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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. face — part of the head
  3. march — the month
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mate — a friend
  6. race — humankind
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mate — to breed
  17. lean — to bend
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. march — the month
  24. lean — thin

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