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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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. march — the month
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cold — not warm
  5. court — for sport
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cell — a phone
  12. object — to protest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — of a king
  17. object — a thing
  18. cell — in biology
  19. march — music
  20. court — of law
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bass — low music
  23. object — an aim
  24. march — the month

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