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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — final
  5. chip — for betting
  6. last — finally
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. kid — child
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. track — a song
  15. kid — to tease
  16. last — to go on
  17. track — a path
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. track — to keep track
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. land — ground
  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