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

Word bank: wind · nail · field · bowl · mine · mate · rock · cell

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. field — farmland
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. field — for sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. field — a subject
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rock — a stone
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cell — a phone

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