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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. capital — money
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. capital — a city
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. race — humankind
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. race — the arms race

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