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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. band — a music group
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. band — a ring
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. season — in sport
  16. kick — in football
  17. court — of law
  18. ball — a great time
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. season — of the year
  24. race — humankind

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