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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · bay · file · bowl · wound · jam · drill · nail

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. file — a tool
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. land — a country
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. file — a document
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. land — to come down
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. drill — army training
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. file — a line of people
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. land — ground
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wound — an injury

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