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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. last — finally
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. band — a music group
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — money
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — a city
  11. bulb — for light
  12. last — final
  13. spring — the season
  14. ball — a dance
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. last — to go on
  19. bulb — for light
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. band — a ring
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. ball — a great time

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