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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: track · rash · ground · row · drill · mine · ball · present

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. present — there
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ground — a position
  6. rash — a series
  7. drill — the tool
  8. ball — a dance
  9. mine — for digging
  10. track — a song
  11. ground — the earth
  12. track — a path
  13. present — a gift
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. ground — crushed
  16. row — a line
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. drill — army training
  19. ball — a great time
  20. present — the time now
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. track — to keep track
  23. row — to paddle
  24. drill — a practice

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