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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — child
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. capital — money
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. file — a document
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — a city
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — in cards
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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