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

Word bank: race · cap · wind · scale · kick · lean

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. lean — thin
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kick — in football
  10. scale — size or range
  11. race — humankind
  12. cap — a hat
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. scale — in music

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