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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: rest · nail · pitch · kid · bear · land · swing · shower

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — ground
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. kid — child
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. shower — rain
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. land — to come down
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. land — a country

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