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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. race — a contest
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — the season
  9. rush — hurry
  10. race — the arms race
  11. scale — in music
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. race — humankind
  14. scale — size or range
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. saw — the tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. spring — of water
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mine — an explosive

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