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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bear — the animal
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. scale — in music
  7. land — ground
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. spring — the season
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. land — to come down
  16. spring — of water
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. land — a country
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mark — a trace
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mark — a grade
  24. scale — size or range

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