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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — to rip
  3. scale — in music
  4. race — humankind
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. race — a contest
  7. file — a document
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bat — the animal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. file — a tool
  14. pit — a hole
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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