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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 120 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: rock · scale · tear · plane · cold · race · present · perch

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — size or range
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rock — a stone
  12. race — the arms race
  13. present — the time now
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. scale — in music
  17. present — there
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — humankind
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. present — a gift
  23. race — a contest
  24. tear — to rip

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