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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  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. suit — to fit
  3. cap — of ice
  4. race — humankind
  5. suit — clothes
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. race — a contest
  10. spring — of water
  11. cap — a hat
  12. race — the arms race
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. spring — the season
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. scale — in music
  17. drill — army training
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cap — a lid
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — the animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. suit — in cards
  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