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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — to come down
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. scale — in music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. march — music
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — a country
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bank — for money
  14. swing — music
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. march — the month
  18. bank — of a river
  19. hand — in cards
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bank — for money
  23. land — ground
  24. hand — part of the body

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