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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: deal · kid · nail · wind · spell · fan · fine · leaves

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fine — all right
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — letters
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. kid — to tease
  24. deal — to handle

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