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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bat — the animal
  6. root — the cause
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spell — a short time
  10. root — of a word
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — letters
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ground — crushed
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. root — of a plant
  20. spell — magic
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. nail — on a finger

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