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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: march · pass · pop · hand · clip · game · can · race

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pop — soda
  5. race — humankind
  6. march — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — to cut
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — a permit
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. race — the arms race
  16. hand — help
  17. march — the month
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. clip — a video
  21. can — to be able to
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. race — a contest
  24. hand — in cards

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