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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mate — to breed
  4. drill — the tool
  5. march — music
  6. drill — army training
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — to shout
  11. march — the month
  12. pound — a weight
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rule — government
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — a law
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mate — a partner

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