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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bass — low music
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. land — to come down
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chest — of your body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. march — the month
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. hand — help
  16. march — music
  17. land — ground
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. land — a country

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