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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: spell · march · spring · pitcher · tear · patient · race · scale

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. race — the arms race
  3. spring — of water
  4. march — the month
  5. tear — to rip
  6. march — music
  7. spell — magic
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. scale — in music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spell — letters
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spring — a coil
  15. scale — size or range
  16. race — a contest
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — a short time
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. race — humankind
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — the season
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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