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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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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 · bulb · cell · fall · snap · scale

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. race — humankind
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — a contest
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fall — the season
  7. snap — to click
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. race — the arms race
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bulb — for light
  16. scale — in music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  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