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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: row · rash · cell · staff · race · scale

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. race — a contest
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rash — a series
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rash — hasty
  7. race — humankind
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — in biology
  10. staff — employees
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. staff — a stick
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. row — a line
  17. staff — employees
  18. scale — size or range

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