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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — finally
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. present — the time now
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. saw — the tool
  14. present — a gift
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. last — final
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hand — help
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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