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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. suit — clothes
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. march — music
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fork — in a road
  12. shower — to wash
  13. field — farmland
  14. shower — rain
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. field — for sport
  19. sharp — clever
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — a practice
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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