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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 124 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: mine · ground · wave · cabinet · shower · drill · bat · sharp

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. drill — army training
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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