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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: race · shower · scale · bass · bay · fall · kick · land

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bass — the fish
  9. scale — in music
  10. race — a contest
  11. kick — in football
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. land — a country
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bass — low music
  21. land — ground
  22. shower — rain
  23. land — to come down
  24. fall — to drop

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