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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — final
  4. land — ground
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — finally
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wound — an injury
  10. root — of a plant
  11. land — a country
  12. last — to go on
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. land — to come down
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. bowl — a dish

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