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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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Word bank
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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ball — a great time
  5. field — farmland
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. spring — the season
  8. key — in music
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — a subject
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. field — for sport
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a face
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wound — an injury
  20. key — for a lock
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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