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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. drill — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. saw — the tool
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. drill — army training
  10. march — music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tube — the underground
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tube — a container
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kid — to tease
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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