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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spell — magic
  3. scale — size or range
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. race — a contest
  6. board — to get on
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. race — the arms race
  9. spell — a short time
  10. lean — to bend
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rash — hasty
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. spell — letters
  15. degree — an amount
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. board — a committee
  20. race — humankind
  21. rash — a series
  22. degree — temperature
  23. deal — to handle
  24. 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