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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. land — a country
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. drill — a practice
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — ground
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. drill — the tool
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a line of people
  19. drill — army training
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. vault — a safe
  23. racket — for tennis
  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