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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 116 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: wind · fan · pass · scale · race · tear

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. tear — from crying
  7. scale — size or range
  8. race — a contest
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — in music
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pass — a permit
  18. tear — from crying

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