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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cap — a lid
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. race — a contest
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — a hat
  7. march — the month
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mark — a trace
  15. spell — magic
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — boats
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. spell — a short time
  22. march — the month
  23. mark — a grade
  24. spell — letters

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