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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. swing — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. swing — to play on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. object — a thing
  10. kid — child
  11. key — the most important part
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. key — in music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. race — humankind
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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