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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: band · race · scale · racket · face · rash · cold · rule

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. scale — size or range
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. race — a contest
  7. band — a music group
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — hasty
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. band — a ring
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. race — the arms race
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. rash — a series
  24. scale — for weighing

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