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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitch · ball · nail · land · scale · cabinet · clip · kick

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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 — for a hammer
  2. ball — a dance
  3. scale — size or range
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. clip — to cut
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. land — ground
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. land — to come down
  12. clip — a video
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. kick — in football
  23. land — a country
  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