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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — clever
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spell — magic
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — a match
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spell — a short time
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. chip — to eat
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — wild animals

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