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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. march — the month
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. land — to come down
  6. root — of a word
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. lie — to recline
  9. fine — all right
  10. drill — army training
  11. land — a country
  12. root — the cause
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. root — of a plant
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. march — the month
  17. land — ground
  18. drill — the tool
  19. file — a tool
  20. fine — high quality
  21. drill — a practice
  22. file — a document
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a line of people

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