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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. press — to push
  3. scale — size or range
  4. race — a contest
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. race — humankind
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. press — newspapers
  12. capital — money
  13. snap — to click
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. scale — in music
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. capital — a city
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bat — the animal

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