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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. clip — for paper
  5. land — to come down
  6. pound — a weight
  7. drill — army training
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. rock — a stone
  10. land — ground
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. firm — a company
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. clip — a video
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. land — a country
  21. firm — decided
  22. drill — a practice
  23. firm — steady
  24. rock — to move gently

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