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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: season · pitcher · bear · racket · drill · ground · arm · spell

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ground — a position
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. drill — a practice
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bear — the animal
  9. ground — crushed
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. spell — magic
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — army training
  14. spell — letters
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. ground — the earth
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. season — in sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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