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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — a country
  3. march — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. present — a gift
  6. land — to come down
  7. race — humankind
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spell — magic
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ground — the earth
  12. present — there
  13. spell — a short time
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — decided
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. race — the arms race
  18. land — ground
  19. firm — a company
  20. march — the month
  21. present — the time now
  22. ground — a position
  23. spell — letters
  24. race — a contest

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