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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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 — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pop — to visit
  4. ground — the earth
  5. field — for sport
  6. fall — the season
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pop — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rule — a law
  12. ground — a position
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pop — soda
  15. swing — music
  16. rule — government
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rash — a series
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ground — crushed
  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