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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. toast — bread
  5. race — the arms race
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. court — of law
  9. press — to push
  10. march — the month
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. march — the month
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. swing — music
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. press — a publisher
  19. race — humankind
  20. cold — not warm
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. race — a contest
  24. toast — the most admired

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