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

Word bank: chip · wind · wake · present · nail · saw · kid · key

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wind — moving air
  3. key — the most important part
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — child
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. key — in music
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. chip — to eat
  16. key — for a lock
  17. saw — the tool
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. present — the time now
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. present — a gift
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. present — there

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