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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. march — music
  4. chip — to eat
  5. court — for sport
  6. chip — for betting
  7. race — the arms race
  8. can — a tin
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. court — of a king
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a ring
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. firm — decided
  18. band — a music group
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — for digging

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