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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. last — final
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. suit — to fit
  6. scale — in music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. last — finally
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. race — humankind
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. race — a contest
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. march — the month
  20. last — to go on
  21. race — the arms race
  22. march — music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. suit — clothes

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