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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bass — low music
  3. game — wild animals
  4. spring — of water
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. suit — clothes
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. field — a subject
  16. suit — in cards
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. field — for sport
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. game — a match
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spring — the season
  23. field — farmland
  24. suit — to fit

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