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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — finally
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. present — the time now
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. last — to go on
  10. cell — in biology
  11. field — for sport
  12. present — there
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chair — a leader
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. last — final
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. cell — a phone

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