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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. race — a contest
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. last — final
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. scale — size or range
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wind — moving air
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. wind — moving air
  20. race — humankind
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wound — an injury

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