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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cap — a hat
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kick — in football
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. scale — in music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pitch — completely
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. ground — a position
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. race — a contest
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. race — humankind
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cap — of ice

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