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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. prune — to trim
  5. race — humankind
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — to trim
  8. club — a group
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — for golf
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. scale — size or range
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. scale — in music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wake — a trail

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