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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. field — a subject
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — a trace
  7. last — to go on
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. field — for sport
  10. last — finally
  11. mark — a grade
  12. wake — a trail
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. fall — the season
  17. last — final
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. field — farmland
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fall — to drop

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