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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. race — a contest
  3. charge — electricity
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. charge — a price
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ground — crushed
  11. march — the month
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cold — not warm
  20. charge — in control
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wound — an injury
  23. march — music
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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