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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — a position
  4. club — a group
  5. last — finally
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. last — to go on
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. club — for golf
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. club — for dancing
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. last — final
  22. dip — to sink
  23. drill — the tool
  24. dip — to dunk

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