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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. perch — the fish
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. capital — money
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. scale — size or range
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ground — crushed
  11. capital — a city
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — a position
  14. sharp — clever
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ground — the earth
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chest — a box
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. sharp — exactly

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