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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. last — to go on
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — to tease
  7. row — a line
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. row — to paddle
  11. drill — a practice
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. drill — army training
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. last — final
  22. kid — child
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bowl — a dish

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