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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: scale · clip · face · track · snap · racket · rule · race

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. face — part of the head
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — a video
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. face — to point toward
  11. race — a contest
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. snap — to click
  15. face — to confront
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — government
  20. clip — to cut
  21. track — a path
  22. race — humankind
  23. clip — for paper
  24. 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