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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 · bat · field · hand · nail · object · rock · last

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. rock — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. object — a thing
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. field — a subject
  9. drill — army training
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hand — help
  13. last — finally
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. object — to protest
  16. last — to go on
  17. object — an aim
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. field — farmland
  22. hand — in cards
  23. last — final
  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