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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. saw — the tool
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. game — a match
  5. plane — a tool
  6. scale — size or range
  7. saw — the tool
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. kid — child
  10. scale — in music
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bore — to tire
  14. face — to point toward
  15. game — wild animals
  16. face — to confront
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bore — to drill
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. face — part of the head

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