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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kid — child
  3. scale — size or range
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. scale — in music
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cue — for pool
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cue — a signal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — humankind
  21. cue — a hint
  22. race — the arms race
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. race — a contest

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