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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — final
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. march — the month
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. last — to go on
  9. club — a group
  10. tear — to rip
  11. sharp — clever
  12. march — music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. club — for dancing
  15. saw — the tool
  16. club — for golf
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. tear — from crying
  21. saw — the tool
  22. last — finally
  23. deal — to handle
  24. sharp — exactly

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