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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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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. ground — crushed
  7. snap — to click
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. scale — size or range
  11. ground — the earth
  12. spring — the season
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. race — the arms race
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ground — a position
  17. race — a contest
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. scale — in music
  22. race — humankind
  23. spring — of water
  24. nail — for a hammer

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