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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. march — the month
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — to confront
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. face — part of the head
  14. march — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. march — the month
  20. race — a contest
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. prune — to trim
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bat — the animal

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