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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. staff — a stick
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. club — for golf
  12. land — ground
  13. club — a group
  14. wound — an injury
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wound — an injury
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. file — a document
  19. branch — a division
  20. club — for dancing
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. nail — on a finger

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