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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rush — hurry
  3. hand — in cards
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chest — a box
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. net — after costs
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — in sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — of water
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. hand — help
  19. band — a music group
  20. net — for catching
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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