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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cap — of ice
  3. club — for golf
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. kid — child
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. saw — the tool
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cap — a lid
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cap — a hat
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. club — a group

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