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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: saw · lie · fan · pop · scale · bark · pitch · race

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pop — music
  3. race — humankind
  4. pop — to visit
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. scale — in music
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lie — to recline
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pop — soda
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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