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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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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: cabinet · rest · last · ground · land · drill · sharp · coach

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. land — a country
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rest — a break
  6. ground — the earth
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. drill — a practice
  11. last — final
  12. rest — what's left
  13. land — to come down
  14. ground — crushed
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. land — ground
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rest — what's left
  20. last — finally
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ground — a position
  24. last — to go on

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