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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. swing — in golf
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mine — for digging
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. vault — a safe
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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