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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — the month
  5. race — a contest
  6. march — music
  7. band — a ring
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. race — the arms race
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. lie — to recline
  14. band — a music group
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. race — humankind
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rest — a break

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