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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 120 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lean — thin
  8. stem — to come from
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. race — humankind
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lean — to bend
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bat — for baseball

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