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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. race — a contest
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. race — the arms race
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. swing — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. march — the month
  12. rock — music
  13. clip — to cut
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rock — a stone
  17. march — the month
  18. race — humankind
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. swing — in golf

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