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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rash — a series
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rash — hasty
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. scale — in music
  13. file — a document
  14. race — a contest
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. race — humankind
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. file — a tool
  24. lash — an eyelash

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