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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rash — a series
  6. field — a subject
  7. charge — electricity
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. rash — hasty
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. field — for sport
  12. charge — a price
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. scale — in music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. charge — in control
  21. clip — to cut
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — farmland
  24. mine — an explosive

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