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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: roll · ground · drill · lash · row · wind · cold · ruler

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. roll — a cake
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. drill — army training
  19. row — a line
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. drill — a practice
  23. roll — a list
  24. wind — moving air

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