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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. present — the time now
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. present — a gift
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. row — a line
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. present — there
  16. scale — in music
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fine — high quality
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. date — the fruit

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