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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. suit — in cards
  3. field — for sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. game — a match
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. band — a ring
  11. suit — to fit
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. field — farmland
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bulb — for light
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. kick — in football
  19. field — a subject
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. band — a music group
  22. suit — clothes
  23. bulb — for light
  24. nail — for a hammer

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