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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. race — the arms race
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — in golf
  6. land — to come down
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — in music
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. swing — music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cell — in biology
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. land — a country

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