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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: spell · scale · snap · club · nail · march · saw · bat

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. club — for dancing
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bat — the animal
  12. scale — size or range
  13. club — a group
  14. march — the month
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spell — magic
  17. scale — in music
  18. club — for golf
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spell — letters
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. march — music
  24. saw — the tool

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