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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 120 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: dip · kid · march · wake · last · race · tear · object

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. march — music
  3. object — to protest
  4. object — an aim
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. last — to go on
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. wake — a trail
  11. race — a contest
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. tear — from crying
  16. race — the arms race
  17. object — a thing
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — to rip
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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