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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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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: bay · cold · scale · race · ground · chair · season · trunk

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. ground — a position
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. race — humankind
  13. ground — crushed
  14. scale — in music
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. chair — a leader
  20. season — of the year
  21. scale — size or range
  22. ground — the earth
  23. scale — for weighing
  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