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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spring — the season
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spring — of water
  6. race — the arms race
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mine — for digging
  11. race — a contest
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rash — a series
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. race — humankind
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. roll — a cake
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. roll — a list
  24. scale — in music

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