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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 · track · mug · hand · leaves · nail · spell · sharp

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. mug — a cup
  3. hand — help
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. spell — letters
  6. mug — a face
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. ground — crushed
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mug — to rob
  12. spell — a short time
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spell — magic
  19. track — a path
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. track — to keep track
  22. ground — a position
  23. track — a song
  24. hand — in cards

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