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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. drill — a practice
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. drill — army training
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. date — the fruit
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — a city
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. drill — the tool
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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