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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. scale — in music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. ground — crushed
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. race — humankind
  7. ground — a position
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hand — in cards
  10. drill — a practice
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. drill — the tool
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. track — a path
  16. race — a contest
  17. scale — size or range
  18. drill — army training
  19. ground — the earth
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. field — farmland
  24. track — a song

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