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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. race — the arms race
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. root — the cause
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — a contest
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. game — wild animals
  13. lean — to bend
  14. root — of a word
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. root — of a plant
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. march — the month
  20. lean — thin
  21. march — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. game — a match
  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