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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. spring — of water
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. scale — size or range
  5. row — to paddle
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bulb — for light
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — ground
  10. spring — a coil
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bulb — for light
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. ball — a dance
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. ball — a great time
  19. land — a country
  20. sharp — clever
  21. land — to come down
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. row — a line
  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