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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: object · march · snap · spell · race · club

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. march — music
  3. object — to protest
  4. club — for dancing
  5. march — the month
  6. object — a thing
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. spell — letters
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. march — the month
  18. race — humankind

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