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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. race — the arms race
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. march — the month
  9. club — for dancing
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. club — for golf
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — the month
  15. race — humankind
  16. object — to protest
  17. march — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. race — a contest
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rash — a series
  24. fork — in a road

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