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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chip — for betting
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chip — to eat
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. scale — in music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. plane — a tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. plane — an aircraft

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