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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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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: bass · march · race · deal · face · last · can · drill

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. march — the month
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. last — finally
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — part of the head
  7. can — a tin
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. drill — army training
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. march — the month
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. can — to be able to
  16. race — a contest
  17. drill — the tool
  18. march — music
  19. drill — a practice
  20. race — the arms race
  21. deal — to handle
  22. can — a tin
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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