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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. game — a match
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — a path
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wound — an injury
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rash — a series
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — hasty
  20. snap — to click
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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