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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. lie — to recline
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rash — a series
  9. swing — to play on
  10. chip — for betting
  11. rash — hasty
  12. field — for sport
  13. perch — the fish
  14. field — farmland
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — a subject
  24. cap — a lid

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