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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fork — in a road
  4. march — the month
  5. cue — for pool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. court — of a king
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. court — for sport
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — the tool
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. court — of law
  22. game — a match
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cue — a hint

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