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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. rush — hurry
  3. pop — to visit
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pop — music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hand — help
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pop — soda
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. fork — in a road
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. capital — money
  22. bass — low music
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. capital — a city

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