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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: present · kid · nail · saw · lash · cap · race · bear

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. present — a gift
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kid — child
  5. cap — a hat
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. race — humankind
  9. saw — the tool
  10. present — there
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. race — a contest
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. present — the time now
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cap — of ice
  24. lash — to lash out

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