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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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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — farmland
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. land — ground
  6. field — for sport
  7. swing — music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. face — to point toward
  14. scale — size or range
  15. field — a subject
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — help
  18. face — to confront
  19. swing — to play on
  20. scale — in music
  21. land — to come down
  22. swing — in golf
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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