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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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Word bank
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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: bay · tear · kid · leaves · net · nail · sharp · chip

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. kid — child
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — to tease
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. sharp — clever
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — in sport
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chip — for betting
  23. net — after costs
  24. leaves — of a tree

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