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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rush — hurry
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. field — farmland
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. board — to get on
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — a subject
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — a committee
  17. suit — in cards
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. suit — to fit
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. suit — clothes
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — to turn a key

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