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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bass — the fish
  4. drill — the tool
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. tube — a container
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. sharp — clever
  16. tube — the underground
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. drill — army training

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