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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — size or range
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — an illness
  13. clip — for paper
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — to cut
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. clip — a video
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ruler — for measuring

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