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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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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: present · nail · scale · ground · land · squash · dip · race

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ground — crushed
  5. scale — size or range
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. scale — in music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. present — the time now
  10. land — to come down
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. land — a country
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. dip — to sink
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ground — a position
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. race — humankind
  19. present — there
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. present — a gift
  23. land — ground
  24. race — the arms race

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