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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hand — help
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. kid — child
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cap — of ice
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — a tool
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. bound — tied together
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. plane — an aircraft

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