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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 124 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. hand — help
  13. rush — hurry
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. last — to go on
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. deal — to handle
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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