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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. game — a match
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. race — humankind
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. race — a contest
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. race — the arms race
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. kid — child
  18. nail — on a finger

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