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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 120 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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. court — of law
  5. land — a country
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. land — to come down
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. last — final
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. track — to keep track
  18. land — ground
  19. last — finally
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. last — to go on
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. sharp — with an edge

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