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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pitch — completely
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. scale — in music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cell — in biology
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. band — a music group

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