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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — ground
  3. track — to keep track
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hand — help
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. plane — a tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kid — child
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. track — a song
  14. scale — size or range
  15. land — a country
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. track — a path
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — to come down

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