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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fork — in a road
  3. lean — to bend
  4. march — music
  5. firm — a company
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. lean — thin
  12. march — the month
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cell — in biology
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — a leader
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. march — the month
  24. drill — the tool

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