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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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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 · fan · tear · hand · scale · land · race · key

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. race — humankind
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — the arms race
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — a country
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. key — in music
  15. land — to come down
  16. key — for a lock
  17. race — a contest
  18. last — finally
  19. land — ground
  20. key — the most important part
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hand — help
  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