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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pop — soda
  7. saw — the tool
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pop — to visit
  10. kid — child
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — to keep track
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pop — music
  19. track — a song
  20. shower — rain
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — a path
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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