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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — to come down
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — humankind
  6. rock — music
  7. land — a country
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. race — a contest
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. mine — for digging
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. march — music
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bound — tied together
  20. race — the arms race
  21. march — the month
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chair — a leader
  24. land — ground

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