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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mug — a cup
  3. shower — to wash
  4. last — finally
  5. ground — a position
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. ground — the earth
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — to go on
  11. race — humankind
  12. last — final
  13. shower — rain
  14. ground — crushed
  15. squash — the sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mug — to rob
  18. squash — to crush
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. mug — a face
  22. race — a contest
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. march — music

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