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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. march — music
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — hasty
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — the tool
  8. key — in music
  9. staff — employees
  10. key — for a lock
  11. drill — army training
  12. key — the most important part
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — to rip
  17. staff — a stick
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rash — a series
  20. perch — the fish
  21. march — the month
  22. chip — to eat
  23. march — the month
  24. perch — for a bird

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