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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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. current — electric
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mark — a trace
  12. current — of water
  13. roll — a cake
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. land — a country
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. roll — a list
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. current — happening now

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