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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. last — finally
  2. kid — to tease
  3. scale — size or range
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. hand — help
  6. kid — child
  7. roll — a list
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. drill — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. kick — in football
  16. last — to go on
  17. scale — in music
  18. roll — a cake
  19. saw — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. hand — in cards
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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