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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · race · hide · racket · rash · game · scale · spring

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. spring — the season
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rash — hasty
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. scale — size or range
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. spring — of water
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. scale — in music
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — a match
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. race — a contest
  24. rash — a series

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