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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. race — humankind
  7. season — of the year
  8. pop — music
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — rain
  11. pop — soda
  12. scale — size or range
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rush — hurry
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. scale — in music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. season — in sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rush — a thrill

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