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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 · race · cue · foot · spring · cap · lean · cold

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. race — a contest
  3. scale — in music
  4. race — the arms race
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. lean — thin
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cap — of ice
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cap — a hat
  11. lean — to bend
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cold — an illness
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. race — humankind
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. cue — for pool
  24. scale — size or range

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