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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pop — soda
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. net — in sport
  10. scale — size or range
  11. net — after costs
  12. rest — what's left
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pop — to visit
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. kid — child
  17. pop — music
  18. net — for catching
  19. race — a contest
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. scale — in music
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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