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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. drill — the tool
  4. current — happening now
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cell — in biology
  7. current — of water
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. current — electric
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. drill — army training
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — farmland

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