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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: kick · fall · coach · scale · deal · pound · race · spring

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. race — the arms race
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. spring — the season
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. race — humankind
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. race — a contest
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spring — of water
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pound — a weight
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. scale — in music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. deal — to handle
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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