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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · can · scale · nail · clip · cell · chest · pitcher

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. scale — in music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — for paper
  12. can — to be able to
  13. chest — a box
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chest — of your body
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — of your body
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cell — a phone
  24. clip — a video

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