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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. club — a group
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pound — a weight
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — a subject
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rash — a series
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pound — for dogs

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