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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cue — a hint
  7. field — farmland
  8. foot — a measure
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — to cut
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. clip — a video
  16. cue — a signal
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mine — for digging
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wake — a trail
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cue — for pool

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