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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: net · spring · rest · land · ruler · pop · nail · ground

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. pop — to visit
  7. ground — a position
  8. spring — the season
  9. pop — soda
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pop — music
  13. spring — of water
  14. land — a country
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rest — a break
  19. net — after costs
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rest — what's left
  24. land — to come down

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