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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spring — of water
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rest — a break
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — help
  12. file — a tool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mate — a friend
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. spring — the season

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