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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. rush — a thrill
  3. last — final
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. ball — a great time
  6. staff — employees
  7. present — there
  8. staff — a stick
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rush — hurry
  12. present — the time now
  13. staff — employees
  14. root — the cause
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. present — a gift
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. root — of a word
  21. bat — the animal
  22. root — of a plant
  23. ball — a dance
  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