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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. roll — a cake
  7. shower — to wash
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. dip — to sink
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pitch — completely
  13. scale — in music
  14. shower — rain
  15. capital — a city
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. roll — a list
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. scale — size or range
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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