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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cue — for pool
  3. fine — all right
  4. cue — a hint
  5. ground — a position
  6. last — to go on
  7. cue — a signal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. ground — crushed
  10. scale — in music
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tube — a container
  14. last — finally
  15. ground — the earth
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — high quality
  20. last — final
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. branch — a division

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