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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. band — a music group
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fall — the season
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. fall — to drop
  7. band — a ring
  8. club — for golf
  9. bear — the animal
  10. club — a group
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. kid — child
  16. dip — to sink
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fall — to drop
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bear — the animal
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. nail — on a finger

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