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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. rash — on the skin
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. rash — a series
  5. wax — to grow
  6. drill — a practice
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. fine — all right
  13. pit — a hole
  14. capital — a city
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. capital — money
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. march — the month
  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