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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. scale — for weighing
  2. race — humankind
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. plane — a tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. march — music
  10. sharp — clever
  11. march — the month
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. stock — goods
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. net — for catching
  20. race — the arms race
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. stock — shares
  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