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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. cell — a phone
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pound — a weight
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. hand — help
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. plane — a tool
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. scale — in music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. sharp — clever
  23. plane — in geometry
  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