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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. hand — help
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. scale — size or range
  8. fork — in a road
  9. march — music
  10. drill — the tool
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. last — finally
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. scale — in music
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. drill — a practice
  18. hand — in cards
  19. last — final
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. field — farmland
  22. drill — army training
  23. march — the month
  24. nail — for a hammer

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