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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. key — in music
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. snap — to click
  5. march — the month
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. spring — of water
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. key — for a lock
  12. spring — the season
  13. current — electric
  14. march — the month
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. race — a contest
  17. court — of law
  18. march — music
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. spring — a coil
  21. race — humankind
  22. current — of water
  23. key — the most important part
  24. current — happening now

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