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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 124 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cap — of ice
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pop — soda
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. race — a contest
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cap — a lid
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. leaves — of a tree

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