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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pop — music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. hand — help
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. kid — child
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — to wash
  15. hand — in cards
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — rain
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. pop — soda
  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