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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. last — finally
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. last — final
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. march — the month
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — to go on
  9. march — music
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. staff — a stick
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. race — the arms race
  21. snap — to click
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. race — humankind
  24. staff — employees

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