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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. scale — size or range
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lean — thin
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. lean — to bend
  17. scale — in music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — help
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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