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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: nail · deal · kid · foot · hide · mine · clip · rock

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kid — to tease
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rock — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. deal — to handle
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. clip — to cut
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rock — a stone
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kid — child
  24. foot — a measure

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