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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. 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. fork — a garden tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. craft — boats
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pop — music
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. march — the month
  9. race — humankind
  10. scale — size or range
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pop — soda
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. toast — bread
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. race — a contest
  18. scale — in music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pop — to visit
  21. craft — a skill
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. 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