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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — size or range
  6. lean — to bend
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. race — humankind
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lean — thin
  12. chest — a box
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. scale — in music

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