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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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chest — of your body
  6. march — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. march — the month
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pop — music
  12. can — a tin
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. march — the month
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. chest — a box
  21. can — a tin
  22. pop — to visit
  23. race — humankind
  24. can — to be able to

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