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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. can — to be able to
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wound — an injury
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. scale — size or range
  9. chair — a leader
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bear — the animal
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bear — the animal
  19. can — a tin
  20. game — a match
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. scale — in music

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