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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bulb — for light
  3. march — the month
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. race — humankind
  9. net — for catching
  10. race — a contest
  11. craft — boats
  12. land — to come down
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bulb — for light
  15. land — ground
  16. net — in sport
  17. race — the arms race
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. net — after costs
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. march — music
  23. land — a country
  24. march — the month

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