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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 120 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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. file — a document
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — ground
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — the season
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. file — a line of people
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — of water
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. squash — to crush
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a tool
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fork — in a road

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