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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 116 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: mark · drill · cap · straw · mine · ground · shower · nail

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cap — of ice
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cap — a lid
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ground — a position
  14. mine — for digging
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. drill — army training
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mark — a trace
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mark — a grade
  24. nail — for a hammer

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