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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 116 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. march — the month
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. march — the month
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. march — music
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pop — music
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. nail — for a hammer

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