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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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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cue — a signal
  3. race — a contest
  4. cue — for pool
  5. court — of law
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tear — from crying
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chest — a box
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. court — of a king
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — humankind
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. tear — to rip
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. race — the arms race
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — rain

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