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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. file — a document
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. scale — size or range
  5. march — the month
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cold — an illness
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mate — a friend
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. cold — not warm
  16. file — a tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. race — the arms race
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. mate — a partner

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