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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. row — a line
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. band — a music group
  6. current — electric
  7. march — the month
  8. row — to paddle
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. band — a ring
  12. race — humankind
  13. drill — the tool
  14. current — of water
  15. season — of the year
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — music
  18. season — in sport
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. current — happening now
  23. race — the arms race
  24. march — the month

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