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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ball — a dance
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. land — ground
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spring — the season
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. scale — in music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. key — in music
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bank — of a river
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. land — a country
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — to come down
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — size or range
  24. spring — of water

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