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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. club — for dancing
  4. court — of a king
  5. cap — a lid
  6. club — a group
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — child
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. club — for golf
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — of ice
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rush — hurry
  21. cap — a hat
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  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