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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. hand — help
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. squash — the sport
  5. spell — letters
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. net — for catching
  8. chip — for betting
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bank — for money
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. chip — to eat
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bank — for money
  22. spell — magic
  23. court — of a king
  24. bank — of a river

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