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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. shower — to wash
  6. land — a country
  7. pop — to visit
  8. race — a contest
  9. pit — a hole
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. race — the arms race
  15. shower — rain
  16. ground — a position
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pop — music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. land — ground
  22. race — humankind
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pop — soda

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