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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. race — the arms race
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — help
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. march — the month

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