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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pass — a permit
  3. march — music
  4. race — the arms race
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mark — a grade
  7. field — a subject
  8. chair — a leader
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mark — a trace
  16. prune — to trim
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. race — humankind
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. march — the month
  24. race — a contest

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