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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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bass — the fish
  3. last — to go on
  4. spell — letters
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. march — the month
  7. last — finally
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pop — music
  14. bore — to tire
  15. drill — army training
  16. spell — a short time
  17. drill — a practice
  18. march — music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. march — the month
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spell — magic
  23. pop — soda
  24. last — final

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