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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. shower — rain
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. key — for a lock
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. drill — the tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. drill — army training
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. key — in music
  24. cap — a hat

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