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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 124 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chair — a leader
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. band — a music group
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fork — in a road
  11. squash — the sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a ring
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. game — a match

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