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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. object — a thing
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. game — a match
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. current — electric
  9. object — an aim
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. game — wild animals
  12. current — happening now
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. object — to protest
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kid — to tease
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. current — of water

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