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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · game · drill · stand · cold · ground · track · wave

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a song
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — a position
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ground — crushed
  11. track — to keep track
  12. game — a match
  13. drill — army training
  14. stand — to bear
  15. track — a path
  16. cold — an illness
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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