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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pitch — completely
  5. key — in music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. race — a contest
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. march — music
  12. shower — to wash
  13. key — for a lock
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. chair — a leader
  17. march — the month
  18. bound — obliged
  19. race — the arms race
  20. content — the amount
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. shower — rain
  24. race — humankind

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