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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. march — music
  3. ball — a great time
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — the season
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. club — a group
  12. race — the arms race
  13. scale — in music
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spring — of water
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. roll — a list
  19. race — humankind
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. scale — size or range

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