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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. spring — of water
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. press — to push
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spring — the season
  15. branch — a division
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rush — hurry
  24. press — newspapers

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