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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. race — a contest
  4. march — the month
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. march — music
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. scale — size or range
  11. craft — boats
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. land — a country
  14. race — humankind
  15. craft — a skill
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. snap — to click
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — in music
  21. season — in sport
  22. race — the arms race
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. season — of the year

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