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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. race — humankind
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — a subject
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — help
  9. squash — the sport
  10. key — in music
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. key — for a lock
  19. squash — to crush
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. march — the month
  22. net — after costs
  23. key — the most important part
  24. field — farmland

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