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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. race — a contest
  3. mark — a trace
  4. kid — child
  5. mark — a grade
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. race — the arms race
  13. club — for golf
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. last — finally
  16. march — the month
  17. last — to go on
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. last — final
  20. march — music
  21. race — humankind
  22. pound — a weight
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pound — to hit hard

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