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

Word bank: shower · cue · mark · rule · nail · scale · cell · content

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cue — a hint
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rule — government
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cue — a signal
  8. content — happy
  9. scale — in music
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cell — a phone
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — the amount
  16. rule — a law
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. scale — size or range
  19. shower — rain
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. cell — in a prison

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