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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. march — the month
  3. field — farmland
  4. mate — a partner
  5. rash — a series
  6. field — a subject
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. march — the month
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — for sport
  11. bore — to tire
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. drill — the tool
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. key — the most important part
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. key — in music
  23. march — music
  24. key — for a lock

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