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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. content — the amount
  4. rule — government
  5. scale — size or range
  6. race — a contest
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rock — music
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — humankind
  12. scale — in music
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. kick — in football
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — a stone
  24. race — the arms race

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