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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: lie · rock · tear · mark · march · race · chair · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. race — humankind
  3. rock — a stone
  4. mark — a trace
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. toast — bread
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. rock — music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. race — a contest
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. tear — to rip
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. march — music
  24. mark — a grade

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