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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. capital — a city
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — money
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mate — a partner
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. chip — for betting
  24. fan — a supporter

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