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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. object — to protest
  9. hand — in cards
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — help
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. object — a thing
  17. fall — to drop
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. fall — the season
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. object — an aim

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