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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. scale — in music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. band — a music group
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. net — in sport
  9. kick — in football
  10. scale — size or range
  11. net — after costs
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. race — humankind
  14. net — for catching
  15. band — a ring
  16. race — a contest
  17. tube — a container
  18. scale — for weighing

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