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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a ring
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hand — help
  18. craft — boats
  19. court — of law
  20. kid — to tease
  21. craft — a skill
  22. band — a music group
  23. kid — child
  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