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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. sharp — clever
  3. snap — to click
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. stock — shares
  6. key — in music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. net — after costs
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stock — goods
  11. net — in sport
  12. key — the most important part
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. land — ground
  16. field — a subject
  17. net — for catching
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. land — a country
  20. field — for sport
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. land — to come down
  24. field — farmland

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