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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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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: court · leaves · nail · tube · scale · mine · bat · content

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. scale — size or range
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. court — for sport
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — of a king
  14. content — the amount
  15. tube — the underground
  16. content — happy
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tube — a container
  20. scale — in music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. court — of law
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bat — in an idiom

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