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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cap — a lid
  4. land — to come down
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pop — to visit
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. march — the month
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — soda
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. race — the arms race
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cap — a hat
  16. ball — a dance
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pop — music
  19. cap — of ice
  20. race — humankind
  21. march — music
  22. race — a contest
  23. land — ground
  24. ball — a great time

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