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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. face — to confront
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bore — to drill
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — child
  12. shower — rain
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bore — to tire
  19. fine — all right
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. clip — a video
  23. kid — to tease
  24. clip — for paper

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