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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 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. club — a group
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bass — low music
  9. mark — a grade
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. root — the cause
  13. cold — an illness
  14. scale — in music
  15. root — of a word
  16. bass — the fish
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mark — a trace
  19. club — for golf
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bass — the instrument

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