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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: last · pit · object · rule · row · hand · nail · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pit — in a race
  3. last — finally
  4. rule — a law
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. object — a thing
  7. kid — child
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. last — final
  10. row — to paddle
  11. hand — help
  12. row — a line
  13. pit — a hole
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. object — an aim
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rule — government
  22. object — to protest
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. last — to go on

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