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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. hand — help
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cap — of ice
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — the month
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. kick — in football
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cap — a lid
  24. hand — in cards

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