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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 · season · kid · deal · mine · rush · nail · saw

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. season — in sport
  8. kid — child
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. last — finally
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — the tool
  17. deal — to handle
  18. season — of the year
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rush — hurry
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. saw — the tool

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