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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. race — the arms race
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kick — in football
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — an illness
  22. drill — army training
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kick — with a leg

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