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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · scale · saw · rest · bowl · race

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. press — a publisher
  5. race — humankind
  6. saw — the tool
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rest — what's left
  11. scale — size or range
  12. saw — the tool
  13. race — a contest
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left

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