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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. bear — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chair — a leader
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. race — the arms race
  9. shower — rain
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. scale — in music
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. race — a contest
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bear — the animal
  23. scale — size or range
  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