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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. scale — in music
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — the season
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. spring — of water
  10. file — a line of people
  11. scale — size or range
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cell — a phone
  14. race — humankind
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cap — a hat
  20. swing — in golf
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cap — a lid

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