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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. race — the arms race
  3. scale — in music
  4. ground — a position
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. band — a ring
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — crushed
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. scale — size or range
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. race — humankind
  19. ground — the earth
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cell — a phone
  23. band — a music group
  24. bat — the animal

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