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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tube — the underground
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bulb — for light
  7. perch — the fish
  8. sharp — clever
  9. capital — money
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. race — humankind
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. capital — a city
  14. scale — size or range
  15. tube — a container
  16. race — a contest
  17. bulb — for light
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. race — the arms race
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. perch — for a bird

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