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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. shower — rain
  4. rush — hurry
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wind — moving air
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. spring — of water
  14. shower — to wash
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. scale — in music
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spring — the season
  24. rush — a thrill

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