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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. can — a tin
  3. bark — to shout
  4. current — electric
  5. hand — help
  6. current — happening now
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — a subject
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. can — a tin
  11. current — of water
  12. sharp — clever
  13. can — to be able to
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. field — farmland
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — for sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. sharp — exactly

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