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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chair — a leader
  5. spell — letters
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — ground
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. spell — magic
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. land — a country
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mark — a trace
  21. hand — help
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mark — a grade
  24. hand — in cards

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