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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — child
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chest — of your body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. chest — a box
  16. tube — the underground
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. tube — a container
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. plane — a tool

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