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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — a tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — army training
  7. march — music
  8. field — for sport
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. row — a line
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. drill — a practice
  16. rule — a law
  17. row — to paddle
  18. drill — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. rule — government
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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