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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. track — to keep track
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. race — a contest
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — in biology
  12. track — a path
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. track — a song
  18. cell — a phone
  19. row — to paddle
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. race — the arms race

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