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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — a match
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mate — to breed
  14. game — wild animals
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kick — in football
  23. tear — from crying
  24. nail — for a hammer

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