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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. ground — the earth
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. swing — in golf
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. last — finally
  8. track — to keep track
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spring — of water
  12. swing — music
  13. last — final
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. last — to go on
  18. spring — the season
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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