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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. land — a country
  4. key — for a lock
  5. plane — a tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — to sink
  9. key — in music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. race — a contest
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a tool
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. march — the month
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. march — music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — the animal
  22. key — the most important part
  23. land — ground
  24. race — humankind

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