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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. shower — rain
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. ground — crushed
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. kid — child
  15. craft — a skill
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. craft — boats
  22. kid — to tease
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. ground — the earth

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