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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: last · lie · march · hand · chair · date · wake · race

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. march — music
  3. race — humankind
  4. wake — a trail
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. march — the month
  7. race — a contest
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. last — to go on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. march — the month
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. race — the arms race
  16. last — final
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. lie — to recline
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. date — the fruit
  22. last — finally
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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