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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rule — a law
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spring — the season
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — farmland
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. kid — to tease
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rule — government
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. rest — a break
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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