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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. clip — for paper
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — a video
  11. sharp — clever
  12. degree — temperature
  13. clip — to cut
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mate — to breed
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mate — a friend
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mate — a partner
  24. scale — in music

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