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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. race — a contest
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. race — humankind
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. scale — in music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. kid — to tease
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. prune — to trim
  20. kid — child
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. race — the arms race
  23. scale — size or range
  24. prune — the fruit

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