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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mug — to rob
  9. rock — a stone
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. shower — to wash
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. swing — music
  14. rock — music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mug — a face
  17. game — a match
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. shower — rain
  22. mug — a cup
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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