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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chair — a leader
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. suit — clothes
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — farmland
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. game — a match
  15. suit — to fit
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. field — a subject
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. suit — in cards
  24. hide — to keep secret

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