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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bat — the animal
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. net — for catching
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. drill — a practice
  12. field — farmland
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — a subject
  17. staff — employees
  18. field — for sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. staff — a stick
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — army training

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