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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. capital — money
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kid — to tease
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. file — a document
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. degree — from a university
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — child
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. deal — to handle
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. nail — for a hammer

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