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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mate — to breed
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. drill — a practice
  5. last — final
  6. march — the month
  7. bark — to shout
  8. march — the month
  9. last — to go on
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. last — finally
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. toast — bread
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — a partner

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