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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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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: nail · spell · game · hide · mate · object · last · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mate — a partner
  5. last — final
  6. spell — a short time
  7. object — to protest
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. mate — to breed
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spell — letters
  14. mate — a friend
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — to go on
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. spell — magic
  23. last — finally
  24. game — wild animals

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