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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. row — a line
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — not warm
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — a safe
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. swing — to play on
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. swing — music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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