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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. staff — employees
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — music
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. drill — army training
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. vault — a safe
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — employees
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — a practice
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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