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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mug — a face
  4. cap — a lid
  5. mug — to rob
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. march — the month
  10. club — for golf
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mug — a cup
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cap — of ice
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. march — the month
  20. club — for dancing
  21. march — music
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. rash — a series

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