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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. row — to paddle
  3. race — humankind
  4. drill — the tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. swing — to play on
  7. roll — a cake
  8. drill — army training
  9. swing — in golf
  10. roll — a list
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. march — music
  14. swing — music
  15. row — a line
  16. race — the arms race
  17. march — the month
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — a practice
  22. content — happy
  23. race — a contest
  24. content — the amount

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