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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. foot — a measure
  8. club — for golf
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kid — child
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. field — farmland
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. club — for dancing
  17. field — a subject
  18. kid — to tease
  19. club — a group
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. field — for sport
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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