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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: patient · nail · scale · date · trunk · mine · saw · content

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. saw — the tool
  7. scale — in music
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. content — happy
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — for digging
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. date — the fruit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. scale — size or range
  24. content — the amount

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