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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. race — the arms race
  3. march — the month
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. march — music
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — shares
  8. prune — to trim
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. scale — in music
  13. lean — thin
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stock — goods
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bass — low music
  24. scale — size or range

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