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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. land — a country
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. row — a line
  5. mug — a cup
  6. land — to come down
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mug — a face
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mug — to rob
  16. land — ground
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wake — a trail
  19. drill — army training
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. drill — the tool
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. drill — a practice

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