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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. charge — a price
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. roll — a cake
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — help
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — an aim
  14. charge — electricity
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. land — to come down
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. land — a country
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. charge — in control
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. roll — a list
  23. cold — an illness
  24. nail — for a hammer

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