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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. row — a line
  3. field — farmland
  4. squash — the sport
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. saw — the tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. charge — in control
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. charge — electricity
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. charge — a price
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. nail — for a hammer

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