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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bass — low music
  5. cell — in biology
  6. spell — letters
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tube — the underground
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — a weight
  16. court — of a king
  17. tube — a container
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — magic
  20. court — for sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cell — a phone
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pound — to hit hard

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