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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. track — a song
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — a phone
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. march — music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. race — humankind
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology

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