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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wind — moving air
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — a tool
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. game — a match
  11. staff — a stick
  12. game — wild animals
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bowl — a football final

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