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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — from a university
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. race — the arms race
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stock — shares
  10. degree — temperature
  11. march — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. capital — a city
  15. craft — boats
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. race — a contest
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stock — goods
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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