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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. court — for sport
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. snap — to click
  5. can — a tin
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. can — a tin
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. court — of law
  15. field — farmland
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. field — a subject
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. can — to be able to
  20. field — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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