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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. club — a group
  4. scale — in music
  5. last — final
  6. race — humankind
  7. club — for golf
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — to go on
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. key — for a lock
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. last — finally
  19. field — a subject
  20. key — the most important part
  21. club — for dancing
  22. key — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  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