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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — to tease
  4. race — the arms race
  5. march — the month
  6. squash — to crush
  7. date — the fruit
  8. kid — child
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. firm — steady
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. firm — decided
  15. race — humankind
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. drill — army training
  19. race — a contest
  20. drill — a practice
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. march — music
  23. firm — a company
  24. squash — the sport

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