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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. race — humankind
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. race — a contest
  6. current — of water
  7. deal — to handle
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. march — the month
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. race — the arms race
  17. prune — to trim
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. march — the month
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. current — electric
  23. bat — the animal
  24. current — happening now

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