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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — the month
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a hat
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chest — a box
  16. bulb — for light
  17. race — a contest
  18. capital — a city
  19. race — humankind
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cap — a lid

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