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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 120 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. drill — army training
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. capital — a city
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tube — a container
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — money
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. drill — a practice
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. drill — the tool

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