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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 · foot · ground · clip · march · fine · scale · bore

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. march — music
  3. clip — a video
  4. bore — to tire
  5. ground — crushed
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. clip — for paper
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. fine — high quality
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — a position
  14. bore — to drill
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. ground — the earth
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. march — the month
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. race — a contest
  23. foot — a measure
  24. bore — gave birth

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