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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. band — a music group
  3. rest — what's left
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to click
  9. field — for sport
  10. present — the time now
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mine — for digging
  14. present — a gift
  15. rest — a break
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. field — a subject
  19. band — a ring
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. field — farmland
  23. present — there
  24. nail — for a hammer

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