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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. scale — in music
  5. mug — to rob
  6. net — in sport
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spring — of water
  9. scale — size or range
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spring — a coil
  17. board — to get on
  18. spring — the season
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. board — a committee
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. net — after costs
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mug — a face

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