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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: nail · last · scale · bat · drill · kick · club · ruler

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. last — to go on
  3. club — for golf
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. kick — in football
  6. last — finally
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. scale — size or range
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. scale — in music
  24. club — a group

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