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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. court — for sport
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bank — for money
  5. race — humankind
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. file — a tool
  11. race — a contest
  12. court — of a king
  13. file — a line of people
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. race — the arms race
  16. court — of law
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. file — a document
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bank — of a river
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bank — for money

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