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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. plane — a tool
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bank — of a river
  5. hand — in cards
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hand — help
  9. bank — for money
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. drill — a practice
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — army training
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — a city
  16. degree — an amount
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. march — music
  22. bank — for money
  23. degree — temperature
  24. nail — for a hammer

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