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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  3. spring — of water
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cell — in biology
  6. last — finally
  7. pop — soda
  8. cell — a phone
  9. last — to go on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. last — final
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — the season
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pop — music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. spring — a coil
  23. shower — rain
  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