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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mug — a cup
  6. race — a contest
  7. mug — a face
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bass — low music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. scale — in music
  24. bass — the fish

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