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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: scale · tube · hand · spring · nail · content · stem · snap

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. spring — a coil
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. content — happy
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stem — to come from
  9. scale — in music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spring — of water
  12. scale — size or range
  13. spring — the season
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. tube — a container
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. snap — to click
  20. content — the amount
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. tube — the underground
  24. nail — for a hammer

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