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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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — child
  4. firm — decided
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bass — the fish
  12. kick — in football
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bass — low music
  15. firm — steady
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. firm — a company
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kick — a thrill

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