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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. key — for a lock
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. key — in music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — a video
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — to cut
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. staff — a stick
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — goods
  16. staff — employees
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. staff — employees
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — to rip
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. nail — on a finger
  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