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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. land — to come down
  3. present — a gift
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a music group
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kick — in football
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. band — a ring
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wound — an injury
  19. land — a country
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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