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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. content — the amount
  8. rock — music
  9. season — of the year
  10. mine — for digging
  11. content — happy
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. band — a ring
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. scale — size or range
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. band — a music group

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