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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: perch · pop · racket · cell · lie · coach · race · march

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. march — the month
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. march — music
  5. pop — music
  6. perch — the fish
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. race — the arms race
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pop — to visit
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cell — a phone
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — in biology
  24. racket — for tennis

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