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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. stand — to bear
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. race — the arms race
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. club — for golf
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. club — a group
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. club — for dancing
  20. race — humankind
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. degree — an amount
  24. race — a contest

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