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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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 — music
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bat — the animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — a country
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. race — humankind
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. march — the month
  17. race — a contest
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — to come down
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — a subject
  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