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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. capital — a city
  8. scale — in music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bat — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. capital — money
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cap — a lid

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