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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — to bear
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. root — of a word
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — the cause
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. sharp — clever
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. drill — army training
  24. racket — a loud noise

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