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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. race — humankind
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. race — the arms race
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pop — music
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. race — a contest
  14. pop — to visit
  15. scale — in music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — size or range
  18. drill — a practice
  19. capital — money
  20. drill — the tool
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pop — soda
  23. drill — army training
  24. perch — for a bird

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