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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to confront
  3. spell — letters
  4. race — a contest
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ground — crushed
  7. march — music
  8. spell — magic
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. face — to point toward
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rush — hurry
  15. face — part of the head
  16. ground — a position
  17. court — for sport
  18. race — humankind
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spell — a short time
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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