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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: kid · rock · scale · press · dip · race · clip · fine

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — music
  7. race — a contest
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. race — the arms race
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. fine — high quality
  16. press — to push
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. scale — in music
  20. clip — a video
  21. press — newspapers
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. race — humankind

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