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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. present — there
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. field — a subject
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — for sport
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. land — ground
  13. bat — the animal
  14. present — a gift
  15. mate — a partner
  16. land — a country
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — to paddle
  22. present — the time now
  23. field — farmland
  24. bat — for baseball

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