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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 116 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. net — in sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. net — after costs
  5. object — an aim
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. board — to get on
  9. root — of a word
  10. net — for catching
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cold — an illness
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. object — to protest
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. object — a thing
  19. root — the cause
  20. kid — to tease
  21. board — a committee
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. root — of a plant
  24. board — a flat piece

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