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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rule — government
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. rule — a law
  18. pop — music
  19. scale — in music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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