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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. spring — a coil
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pass — a permit
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. ground — a position
  14. field — for sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. spring — the season
  19. plane — a tool
  20. spring — of water
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  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