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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spring — of water
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spring — a coil
  7. club — for golf
  8. hand — help
  9. race — humankind
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. club — a group
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. march — music
  14. race — a contest
  15. spring — the season
  16. march — the month
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. staff — employees
  21. hand — in cards
  22. club — for dancing
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. staff — employees

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