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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rule — a law
  3. march — music
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. fork — in a road
  11. staff — employees
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — army training
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rule — government
  20. drill — a practice
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. march — the month

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