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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 120 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: chair · fan · deal · spring · ball · mine · hide · nail

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. deal — to handle
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — of water
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chair — a leader
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. ball — a great time
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ball — a dance
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. spring — the season
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. ball — a round shape

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