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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. staff — a stick
  5. drill — army training
  6. file — a line of people
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. file — a tool
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pitch — completely
  22. staff — employees
  23. file — a document
  24. stock — a soup base

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