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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · trunk · mate · kid · march · bowl

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. race — humankind
  3. mate — a partner
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. race — a contest
  6. march — the month
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — music
  11. kid — child
  12. march — the month
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. kid — to tease

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