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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. spell — letters
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chest — of your body
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chip — to eat
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — a face
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chip — for betting
  16. mug — to rob
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chest — a box
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — a gift
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. kid — child

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