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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. press — to push
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. spell — magic
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. chip — to eat
  7. rush — hurry
  8. press — newspapers
  9. spell — a short time
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spell — letters
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. march — music
  14. press — a publisher
  15. track — a song
  16. scale — in music
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. track — a path
  19. march — the month
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. march — the month
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. scale — size or range

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