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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. march — music
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mark — a trace
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bark — to shout
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. fall — the season
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — the month
  24. mark — a grade

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