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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — crushed
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bass — low music
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. present — a gift
  14. kid — child
  15. bass — the fish
  16. stock — shares
  17. scale — in music
  18. stock — goods
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. chest — a box
  24. scale — for weighing

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