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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. deal — to handle
  3. field — a subject
  4. chest — a box
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rest — a break
  8. present — the time now
  9. field — farmland
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. present — a gift
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rest — what's left
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. rest — what's left
  21. date — the fruit
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. present — there

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