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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cell — in biology
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. drill — a practice
  11. march — the month
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tube — a container
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. drill — army training
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — music
  21. track — a song
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. sharp — clever

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