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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: sharp · drill · club · ground · straw · bowl · tear · current

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. ground — a position
  5. club — for dancing
  6. current — happening now
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. tear — from crying
  12. current — electric
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. current — of water
  17. tear — to rip
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ground — the earth
  21. drill — a practice
  22. ground — crushed
  23. sharp — clever
  24. drill — army training

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