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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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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pop — soda
  3. sharp — clever
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bank — for money
  6. march — the month
  7. bank — of a river
  8. march — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. march — the month
  11. pop — to visit
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pop — music
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. clip — to cut
  20. drill — a practice
  21. clip — for paper
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tube — a container

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