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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — ground
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. current — of water
  9. land — to come down
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. current — happening now
  14. cap — a lid
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. plane — a tool
  18. current — electric
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cap — of ice
  21. land — a country
  22. chair — a leader
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. plane — an aircraft

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