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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — of water
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. land — ground
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hand — in cards
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — the season
  10. hand — help
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bass — the fish
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bass — low music
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. land — to come down
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bore — to tire
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spring — a coil
  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