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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. march — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. drill — a practice
  5. march — the month
  6. bank — for money
  7. pop — soda
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bank — for money
  13. drill — army training
  14. bank — of a river
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stock — goods
  17. bat — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pop — music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. pop — to visit

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