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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. march — music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. firm — a company
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. spell — magic
  10. dip — to sink
  11. march — the month
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. kid — child
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. firm — steady
  23. race — a contest
  24. firm — decided

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