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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · mark · bass · face · kid · nail

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bass — low music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. face — to confront
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hand — in cards
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bass — the fish
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. face — to point toward
  18. kid — to tease

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