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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 124 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mug — to rob
  3. field — a subject
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rock — music
  6. mug — a face
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mug — a cup
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cell — in biology
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. chest — a box
  17. capital — a city
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. field — for sport
  20. rock — a stone
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — money
  23. field — farmland
  24. chest — of your body

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