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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. firm — steady
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wind — moving air
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. chest — a box
  19. firm — a company
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. firm — decided
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. scale — in music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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