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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. race — a contest
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rash — a series
  12. march — music
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. march — the month
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bound — tied together
  19. march — the month
  20. race — humankind
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bound — certain

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