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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 116 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. scale — size or range
  3. race — the arms race
  4. scale — in music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — of law
  8. race — humankind
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — the season
  11. race — a contest
  12. season — in sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. court — for sport
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — of water
  22. season — of the year
  23. spring — a coil
  24. scale — for weighing

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