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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. board — to get on
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. race — humankind
  9. tear — from crying
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. ground — a position
  12. firm — steady
  13. ground — the earth
  14. race — a contest
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. ground — crushed
  18. board — a committee
  19. march — music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — decided
  23. race — the arms race
  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