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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spring — of water
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. tube — the underground
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. drill — a practice
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bat — the animal
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — the season
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spring — a coil
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. drill — army training
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. foot — a measure
  24. tube — in a tire

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