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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — ground
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fall — the season
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. land — a country
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fork — in a road
  15. land — to come down
  16. row — to paddle
  17. deal — to handle
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cell — in biology
  20. row — a line
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — an agreement

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