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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. march — the month
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cap — a hat
  13. saw — the tool
  14. march — music
  15. drill — the tool
  16. scale — in music
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bark — to shout
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cap — of ice
  22. drill — army training
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cap — a lid

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