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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · face · land · race · prune · straw · leaves · scale

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. race — a contest
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — to point toward
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. scale — in music
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. land — a country
  15. race — humankind
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. face — to confront
  18. march — music
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. face — part of the head
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. scale — size or range
  23. race — the arms race
  24. march — the month

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