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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: cabinet · pound · march · race · ground · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — the month
  4. race — humankind
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ground — crushed
  9. race — a contest
  10. club — for golf
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — a weight
  14. march — music
  15. ground — the earth
  16. club — a group
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — a position

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