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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. dip — to sink
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. hand — help
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. land — ground
  11. scale — size or range
  12. land — a country
  13. chair — a leader
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. hand — in cards
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. land — to come down
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. nail — on a finger

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