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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. squash — the sport
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. bass — the fish
  6. firm — a company
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — money
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. degree — from a university
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bass — low music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. capital — a city
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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