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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kid — to tease
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tube — a container
  17. shower — rain
  18. game — wild animals

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