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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. roll — a cake
  3. hand — help
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. roll — a list
  15. mate — a partner
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. object — a thing

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