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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. spring — the season
  5. lean — thin
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. rule — a law
  10. lean — to bend
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. capital — a city
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. rule — government
  18. spring — a coil
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spring — of water
  21. capital — money
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. nail — for a hammer

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