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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 116 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: fine · kid · spring · last · nail · cabinet · land · ground

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. kid — to tease
  3. last — to go on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. ground — crushed
  6. land — ground
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — the season
  9. fine — all right
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spring — of water
  15. land — a country
  16. ground — a position
  17. fine — high quality
  18. kid — child
  19. ground — the earth
  20. last — final
  21. land — to come down
  22. last — finally
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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