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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — in a road
  3. race — humankind
  4. capital — a city
  5. rash — a series
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. race — the arms race
  10. capital — money
  11. spell — magic
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spell — letters
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. march — music
  19. spell — a short time
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lean — thin
  22. race — a contest
  23. lean — to rest against
  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