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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. row — to paddle
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. game — a match
  9. row — a line
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. object — a thing
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cell — in biology
  19. object — to protest
  20. rush — hurry
  21. cell — a phone
  22. object — an aim
  23. game — wild animals
  24. nail — for a hammer

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