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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. land — a country
  7. last — to go on
  8. land — ground
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — moving air
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wind — moving air
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — decided
  20. game — wild animals
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. land — to come down
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. firm — steady

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