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

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — a short time
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lean — to bend
  9. content — the amount
  10. lean — thin
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spell — magic
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. press — to push
  15. fall — the season
  16. spell — letters
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. squash — the sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. squash — to crush
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fall — to drop
  24. press — a publisher

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