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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 124 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. march — music
  4. race — a contest
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. spell — a short time
  7. last — to go on
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. race — the arms race
  10. march — the month
  11. last — final
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. degree — an amount
  14. last — finally
  15. march — the month
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spell — magic
  18. race — humankind
  19. spell — letters
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  24. degree — temperature

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