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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. band — a ring
  3. object — an aim
  4. pitch — completely
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. craft — boats
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. can — to be able to
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. can — a tin
  16. object — a thing
  17. band — a music group
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. race — humankind
  20. craft — a skill
  21. march — music
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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