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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 120 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: tear · stand · cabinet · chip · nail · mouse · row · kid

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. stand — to bear
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. tear — from crying
  6. row — a line
  7. chip — for betting
  8. kid — child
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — to rip
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chip — in a computer

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