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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pound — a weight
  3. drill — a practice
  4. net — for catching
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. drill — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — in sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. track — to keep track
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. saw — the tool
  16. net — after costs
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. track — a song
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bound — obliged
  22. track — a path
  23. drill — army training
  24. pound — to hit hard

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