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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hand — in cards
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — help
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. race — a contest
  10. shower — to wash
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — humankind
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a grade
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. spell — letters
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. net — in sport
  24. spell — magic

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