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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a tool
  5. board — to get on
  6. ball — a great time
  7. saw — the tool
  8. ball — a dance
  9. rule — a law
  10. spring — of water
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. spring — the season
  13. band — a music group
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. band — a ring
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rule — government
  20. board — a committee
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. file — a document
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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