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

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cap — a lid
  3. march — music
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. march — the month
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. race — a contest
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. march — the month
  13. cap — a hat
  14. race — humankind
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cap — of ice
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — moving air

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