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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rush — hurry
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — music
  8. capital — money
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a city
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. drill — a practice

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