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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ball — a great time
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — ground
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — the season
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. squash — to crush
  10. land — a country
  11. stock — goods
  12. face — part of the head
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fall — to drop
  15. squash — the sport
  16. ball — a dance
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. land — to come down
  22. fall — to drop
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. ball — a round shape

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