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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wake · cap · squash · court · rock · scale · press · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. court — for sport
  6. rock — music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. rock — a stone
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cap — of ice
  11. court — of a king
  12. cap — a hat
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. press — newspapers
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. scale — size or range
  18. squash — to crush
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — a lid
  21. squash — the sport
  22. press — to push
  23. court — of law
  24. wake — before a funeral

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