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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rule — a law
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. march — music
  7. last — finally
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — the month
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rule — government
  14. board — to get on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. board — a committee
  17. prune — to trim
  18. march — the month
  19. race — humankind
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. last — final

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