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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. land — to come down
  6. bat — the animal
  7. file — a tool
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. tube — the underground
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a document
  19. land — ground
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. land — a country
  24. coach — a trainer

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