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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. drill — the tool
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mark — a trace
  6. snap — to click
  7. drill — a practice
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. staff — employees
  10. swing — in golf
  11. staff — a stick
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. march — the month
  15. staff — employees
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mark — a grade
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. drill — army training
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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