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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: nail · chest · ground · saw · firm · wound · file · fan

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wound — an injury
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ground — crushed
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. chest — a box
  11. firm — steady
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. file — a document
  18. chest — of your body
  19. firm — decided
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. chest — of your body
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. firm — a company

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