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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bass — low music
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bank — of a river
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. bank — for money
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bank — for money
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bass — the fish
  23. net — in sport
  24. fork — in a road

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