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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 120 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: last · scale · race · bat · rest · wave · hide · pound

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. last — finally
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. race — the arms race
  5. scale — in music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. race — humankind
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pound — a weight
  12. race — a contest
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rest — what's left
  17. last — to go on
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. last — final
  24. bat — for baseball

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