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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. saw — the tool
  3. march — the month
  4. drill — the tool
  5. shower — rain
  6. ball — a great time
  7. march — music
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — to wash
  14. drill — a practice
  15. march — the month
  16. fine — all right
  17. root — of a plant
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fine — high quality
  21. root — of a word
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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