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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. scale — size or range
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rest — what's left
  11. present — there
  12. last — finally
  13. race — a contest
  14. mine — for digging
  15. present — a gift
  16. rest — what's left
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rest — a break
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. present — the time now
  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