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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — wild animals
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — the month
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — the month
  9. race — the arms race
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. spring — a coil
  12. tear — to rip
  13. march — music
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. spring — of water
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — humankind
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — the season
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. race — a contest
  24. cabinet — ministers

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