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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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. net — in sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pop — music
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rock — a stone
  11. net — after costs
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — for catching
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — to visit
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rock — music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pop — soda

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