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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — for sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spell — letters
  13. last — final
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money
  19. last — finally
  20. field — a subject
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spell — magic
  23. bank — of a river
  24. nail — for a hammer

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