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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. march — music
  3. spell — magic
  4. drill — army training
  5. march — the month
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. bore — to drill
  12. spell — letters
  13. pop — music
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — the tool
  16. spell — a short time
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pop — soda

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