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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. race — a contest
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. clip — to cut
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. race — humankind
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. race — the arms race
  11. plane — a tool
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — for paper
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. kid — child

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