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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. march — music
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. race — humankind
  8. root — of a plant
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. ball — a dance
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rash — a series
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. root — the cause
  15. march — the month
  16. game — a match
  17. rash — hasty
  18. race — a contest
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. root — of a word
  22. march — the month
  23. race — the arms race
  24. game — a kind of play

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