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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. march — music
  3. rash — hasty
  4. drill — army training
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — of ice
  10. last — final
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mate — a friend
  14. rash — a series
  15. mate — to breed
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mate — a partner
  21. drill — a practice
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — the tool
  24. perch — the fish

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