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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. craft — boats
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. craft — a skill
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pound — a weight
  24. rock — music

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