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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — the month
  6. race — the arms race
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spring — the season
  10. club — for golf
  11. drill — army training
  12. club — a group
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — a coil
  21. race — humankind
  22. march — music
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. march — the month

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