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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pop — to visit
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — humankind
  14. scale — in music
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pop — soda
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cold — an illness
  22. race — a contest
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rush — to hurry

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