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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. sharp — clever
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — for paper
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. clip — a video
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bore — to tire
  18. march — music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bore — to drill
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. march — the month

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