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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. charge — electricity
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. scale — in music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tube — the underground
  11. charge — in control
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. tube — a container
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. land — to come down
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — a country
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. charge — a price
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lie — to recline

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