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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. bat — the animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. kid — child
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. charge — in control
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. content — happy
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. charge — electricity
  22. content — the amount
  23. charge — a price
  24. calf — a young animal

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