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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. key — in music
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. key — for a lock
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. ball — a great time
  11. file — a line of people
  12. key — the most important part
  13. mark — a trace
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mark — a grade
  16. ball — a dance
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a 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