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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: pound · hand · nail · field · vault · rule · wind · drill

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rule — a law
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. field — farmland
  8. pound — a weight
  9. field — a subject
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. field — for sport
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. rule — government
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — army training
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. drill — the tool

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