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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. race — a contest
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bass — low music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. race — humankind
  12. track — a song
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pop — music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pop — soda
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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