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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: ground · bear · spring · land · rash · leaves · drill · spell

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. spell — a short time
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. spring — of water
  8. spell — letters
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. spring — a coil
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. land — ground
  16. bear — the animal
  17. land — a country
  18. bear — the animal
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. land — to come down
  21. spell — magic
  22. spring — the season
  23. drill — the tool
  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