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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. march — music
  3. present — a gift
  4. race — the arms race
  5. file — a document
  6. last — finally
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. chest — of your body
  10. present — there
  11. race — humankind
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. file — a tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. march — the month
  20. pass — a permit
  21. march — the month
  22. present — the time now
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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