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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pop — soda
  5. current — happening now
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — after costs
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — to go on
  13. pop — to visit
  14. current — of water
  15. last — finally
  16. net — in sport
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. current — electric
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. net — for catching
  22. wind — moving air
  23. last — final
  24. pop — music

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