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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. race — the arms race
  3. track — a path
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. track — to keep track
  6. race — humankind
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. march — music
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. race — a contest
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. fine — high quality
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fine — all right
  17. march — the month
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. club — for dancing
  20. deal — to handle
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wind — moving air

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