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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. march — music
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. march — the month
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. race — a contest
  8. scale — in music
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — rain
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. march — the month
  14. race — the arms race
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. scale — size or range
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a hat
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. shower — to wash

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