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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. game — a match
  4. row — a line
  5. field — for sport
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. field — farmland
  14. mine — for digging
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — to tease
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kid — child
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. game — wild animals
  22. field — a subject
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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