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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chair — a leader
  9. race — humankind
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. race — a contest
  13. craft — boats
  14. cap — a hat
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. craft — a skill

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