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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. drill — the tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. drill — army training
  6. race — the arms race
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. race — humankind
  11. tube — the underground
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bass — low music
  14. squash — the sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. march — the month
  17. bass — the fish
  18. tube — a container
  19. craft — a skill
  20. march — the month
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. march — music

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