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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. 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. nail — for a hammer
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. key — in music
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. land — to come down
  10. chest — a box
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. squash — the sport
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chest — of your body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. 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