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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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. bank — for money
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. ground — the earth
  9. root — of a plant
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bank — for money
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ground — crushed
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. game — wild animals
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rule — government
  20. bank — of a river
  21. rule — a law
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — a position

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