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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. land — to come down
  11. spring — the season
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spring — a coil
  14. land — a country
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bound — tied together
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — of water
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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