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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. craft — boats
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. rest — what's left
  7. scale — in music
  8. spring — of water
  9. craft — a skill
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rest — a break
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. face — to confront
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. spring — the season
  19. tube — a container
  20. spring — a coil
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rest — what's left

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