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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 120 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bank — for money
  3. spell — letters
  4. row — a line
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — size or range
  7. race — humankind
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. race — the arms race
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. scale — in music
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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