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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 · firm · field · pitcher · nail · plane · cell · wound

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. firm — a company
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wound — an injury
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. firm — decided
  15. drill — army training
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. firm — steady
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — for sport
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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