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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: march · pop · scale · saw · bay · sharp · net · race

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. march — the month
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pop — music
  7. race — humankind
  8. net — after costs
  9. scale — in music
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. march — music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pop — soda
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — to visit
  18. scale — size or range
  19. race — the arms race
  20. net — for catching
  21. race — a contest
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. saw — the tool
  24. net — in sport

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