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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 120 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. tube — the underground
  3. march — the month
  4. race — a contest
  5. land — ground
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rush — hurry
  8. march — the month
  9. tube — a container
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — to come down
  12. rule — government
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rule — a law
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. land — a country
  17. race — humankind
  18. squash — the sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. squash — to crush
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — music
  24. race — the arms race

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