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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wound — an injury
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bore — to tire
  10. plane — a tool
  11. mark — a grade
  12. bore — to drill
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rush — hurry
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. nail — for a hammer

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