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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. scale — in music
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. pop — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — a country
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pop — to visit
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pop — soda
  14. scale — size or range
  15. land — to come down
  16. hand — in cards
  17. band — a ring
  18. chest — a box
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — of your body
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. land — ground
  24. leaves — to go away

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