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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: deal · race · clip · scale · rule · tear · ball · wake

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rule — a law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rule — government
  9. race — the arms race
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — a trail
  12. clip — a video
  13. scale — in music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ball — a great time
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. clip — for paper
  21. race — humankind
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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