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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. file — a tool
  3. spell — magic
  4. file — a line of people
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mine — for digging
  13. file — a document
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. board — a committee
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rash — a series
  18. race — humankind
  19. march — the month
  20. race — a contest
  21. cap — a hat
  22. board — to get on
  23. spell — a short time
  24. board — a flat piece

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