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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 120 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wound — an injury
  3. race — humankind
  4. mark — a trace
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bass — low music
  8. court — of law
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of a king
  12. mark — a grade
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — for sport
  24. leaves — lets stay

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