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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. rest — a break
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. scale — in music
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hand — help
  8. race — humankind
  9. march — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. kid — child
  13. march — the month
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. snap — to click
  16. race — the arms race
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rest — what's left
  23. race — a contest
  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