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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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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: swing · saw · trunk · patient · nail · capital · scale · race

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. race — the arms race
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. swing — in golf
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. capital — money
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. swing — to play on
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. swing — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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