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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cold — an illness
  16. scale — in music
  17. content — the amount
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cold — not warm
  24. leaves — to go away

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