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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: scale · spell · present · pound · race · last

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. scale — in music
  6. race — a contest
  7. spell — letters
  8. last — finally
  9. race — humankind
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. present — there
  12. scale — size or range
  13. present — a gift
  14. spell — a short time
  15. present — the time now
  16. race — the arms race
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spell — magic

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