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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. march — music
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. drill — army training
  6. cap — a lid
  7. race — humankind
  8. club — a group
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. drill — a practice
  14. march — the month
  15. race — a contest
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. race — the arms race
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. march — the month
  24. coach — a trainer

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