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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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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: fall · scale · current · race · kick · coach · cell · perch

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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 — for weighing
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. race — a contest
  9. kick — in football
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — in biology
  16. current — electric
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fall — to drop
  19. current — of water
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. current — happening now
  23. race — the arms race
  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