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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. season — in sport
  12. fall — the season
  13. chest — a box
  14. spell — magic
  15. chest — of your body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — of the year
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. land — ground
  24. fall — to drop

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