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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cold — an illness
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — crushed
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. scale — in music
  10. race — humankind
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. net — for catching
  14. ground — a position
  15. net — in sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. net — after costs
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. race — a contest
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. plane — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. trunk — of a tree

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