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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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bass — low music
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bass — the fish
  24. nail — on a finger

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