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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · saw · nail · bat · land · firm

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. firm — a company
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a ring
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. firm — steady
  10. band — a music group
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. firm — decided
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bat — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — in an idiom

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