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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — money
  4. drill — a practice
  5. race — a contest
  6. march — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. drill — the tool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. drill — army training
  13. capital — a city
  14. race — humankind
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. march — the month
  18. race — the arms race

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