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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: pound · chair · nail · bat · firm · race · mark · scale

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. firm — decided
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. firm — steady
  8. scale — in music
  9. firm — a company
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. scale — size or range
  13. race — a contest
  14. pound — a weight
  15. mark — a grade
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. race — the arms race
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — the animal
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. mark — a trace
  24. chair — to sit on

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