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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — farmland
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. firm — steady
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. firm — a company
  9. field — a subject
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kick — in football
  14. mine — for digging
  15. field — for sport
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. firm — decided
  18. nail — on a finger

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