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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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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: saw · ground · shower · cap · stock · pitcher · nail · drill

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — crushed
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cap — a lid
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. stock — goods
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. drill — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stock — shares
  15. ground — a position
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. saw — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. drill — army training
  24. shower — rain

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