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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. mate — a partner
  3. court — of a king
  4. drill — army training
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. march — the month
  8. court — for sport
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. object — a thing
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. race — the arms race
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. race — a contest
  19. bark — to shout
  20. court — of law
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mate — a friend

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