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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. suit — in cards
  3. march — music
  4. suit — to fit
  5. drill — army training
  6. bound — tied together
  7. suit — clothes
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chest — of your body
  10. capital — a city
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — obliged
  13. chest — of your body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bound — certain
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. chest — a box
  24. march — the month

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