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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — child
  3. foot — a measure
  4. date — the fruit
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. present — a gift
  9. rule — government
  10. wound — an injury
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. kid — to tease
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. present — there
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rule — a law
  21. present — the time now
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. date — on the calendar

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