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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. field — farmland
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — money
  7. bank — for money
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chest — of your body
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bank — of a river
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chest — a box
  15. capital — a city
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — a subject
  19. bank — for money
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. chest — of your body

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