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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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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: drill · nail · land · file · wound · pitcher · bear · fine

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. land — ground
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fine — all right
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. file — a tool
  17. land — a country
  18. drill — a practice
  19. land — to come down
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bear — to put up with

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