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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stand — to bear
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. clip — a video
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bass — low music
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. mark — a grade
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bass — the fish
  21. clip — to cut
  22. scale — in music
  23. craft — boats
  24. scale — size or range

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