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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. race — a contest
  8. bass — low music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. scale — size or range
  11. race — the arms race
  12. track — a song
  13. squash — the sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ground — a position
  19. track — a path
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. race — humankind
  22. scale — in music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ground — crushed

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