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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wound — an injury
  3. race — humankind
  4. cap — a hat
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wound — an injury
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. race — the arms race
  11. snap — to click
  12. cap — of ice
  13. scale — in music
  14. cap — a lid
  15. perch — the fish
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spell — magic
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. spell — letters
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. scale — size or range

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