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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — after costs
  5. capital — money
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mate — a friend
  8. capital — a city
  9. fall — to drop
  10. net — in sport
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fall — the season
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. club — a group
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mate — a partner
  19. net — for catching
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rush — hurry
  22. club — for golf
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. club — for dancing

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