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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — low music
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — a country
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bore — to drill
  11. net — after costs
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. field — for sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — to come down
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — ground
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bass — the instrument

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