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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 116 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. band — a ring
  6. rest — what's left
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rest — a break
  9. band — a music group
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wound — an injury
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — the tool
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — child
  18. pop — music
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. saw — the tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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