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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rock — music
  4. bore — to tire
  5. last — finally
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. last — final
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wake — a trail
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. last — to go on
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. race — humankind
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. wake — before a funeral

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