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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. drill — army training
  4. dip — to sink
  5. present — the time now
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. field — a subject
  8. row — to paddle
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. drill — a practice
  12. field — farmland
  13. drill — the tool
  14. row — a line
  15. season — of the year
  16. present — a gift
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. present — there
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — for sport
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. season — in sport
  24. nail — on a finger

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