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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mate — a friend
  5. march — the month
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — music
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. degree — temperature
  15. drill — army training
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. march — the month
  20. stand — to bear
  21. drill — a practice
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stand — for spectators

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