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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. last — final
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. march — music
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stand — to bear
  15. march — the month
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. last — finally
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. kid — child
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  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