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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. current — of water
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. current — happening now
  6. cell — in biology
  7. drill — the tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — army training
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — a path
  17. current — electric
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. capital — money
  20. track — a song
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — a tool

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