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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. race — a contest
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. craft — boats
  6. ground — a position
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. race — humankind
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. craft — a skill
  17. plane — a tool
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. scale — in music
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pound — a weight
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pound — for dogs

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