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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: cold · stand · racket · race · scale · mouse

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — humankind
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. race — the arms race
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. stand — to bear
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. race — a contest

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