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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — to visit
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pop — soda
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — music
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. tube — a container
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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