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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. track — a path
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. track — a song
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — a contest
  17. file — a tool
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. track — to keep track
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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