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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rest — a break
  4. capital — money
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bass — low music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ground — a position
  9. root — the cause
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — to go on
  12. bass — the fish
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — the earth
  18. root — of a word
  19. last — finally
  20. wind — moving air
  21. root — of a plant
  22. capital — a city
  23. last — final
  24. nail — for a hammer

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