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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. scale — in music
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pop — music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. branch — a division
  13. row — a line
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pop — soda
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. race — humankind
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. pop — to visit

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