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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spring — of water
  5. can — a tin
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wind — moving air
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. can — a tin
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. hand — in cards
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. game — a match

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