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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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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: rest · field · bat · nail · wind · pit · key · plane

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pit — in a race
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. pit — a hole
  12. key — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. key — the most important part
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. field — a subject
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. field — farmland
  24. bat — in an idiom

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