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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. last — to go on
  3. row — to paddle
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. last — final
  6. row — a line
  7. field — farmland
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. field — for sport
  10. hand — help
  11. file — a tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — finally
  19. plane — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — in cards
  24. file — a document

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