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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: scale · pound · dip · mine · face · content · race · bat

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. scale — in music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. race — a contest
  13. content — happy
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. scale — size or range
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pound — a weight
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bat — the animal

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