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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. shower — rain
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. kid — to tease
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — child
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. plane — a tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. cap — a hat
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cap — a lid
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. scale — in music
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. scale — size or range
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. race — the arms race
  24. shower — to wash

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