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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spring — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fall — the season
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. scale — in music
  17. spring — a coil
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kick — in football
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — for digging

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