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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. race — humankind
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pop — to visit
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pop — soda
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. scale — in music
  24. file — a document

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