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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. current — of water
  5. bass — the fish
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. current — electric
  9. spell — magic
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spell — a short time
  12. capital — money
  13. current — happening now
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. net — after costs
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bass — low music
  24. spell — letters

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