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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. object — a thing
  3. land — a country
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. pop — music
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. kid — child
  12. march — the month
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rush — hurry
  15. march — music
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — soda
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — to visit
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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