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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — soda
  4. march — the month
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. march — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pop — music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. march — the month
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — to get on
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. prune — to trim

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