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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mark — a trace
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — a grade
  6. present — a gift
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. saw — the tool
  10. present — the time now
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. scale — in music
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cold — an illness
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — there

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