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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. dip — to sink
  7. club — for golf
  8. last — finally
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. scale — size or range
  11. perch — the fish
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. snap — to click
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hand — in cards
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. last — to go on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. hand — help

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