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

Word bank: race · cell · march · perch · club · kick

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — music
  4. race — humankind
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. perch — the fish
  11. march — the month
  12. club — for golf
  13. kick — in football
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cell — a phone

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