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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 116 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: bass · scale · race · fan · mine · field · ruler · hand

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — in music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mine — for digging
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. field — for sport
  13. bass — the fish
  14. field — a subject
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. race — humankind
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bass — low music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. field — farmland

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