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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bay · spell · fine · cap · race · bat · spring

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cap — of ice
  3. race — humankind
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. spring — the season
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fine — all right
  11. cap — a lid
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. spring — of water
  18. spell — magic
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fine — a penalty

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