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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — the arms race
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. race — humankind
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. object — a thing
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cue — a signal
  18. scale — in music
  19. race — a contest
  20. object — an aim
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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