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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: nail · snap · ground · cell · drill · file · squash · patient

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cell — in biology
  3. file — a document
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. squash — to crush
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. snap — to click
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a tool
  12. ground — crushed
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. drill — a practice
  16. squash — the sport
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com