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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mug — a cup
  3. fine — all right
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. spring — a coil
  7. row — a line
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fine — high quality
  13. row — to paddle
  14. press — to push
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. game — wild animals
  18. press — a publisher
  19. spring — the season
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. mug — a face
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mug — to rob
  24. coach — a trainer

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