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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fine — all right
  3. swing — in golf
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. swing — music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stem — to come from
  8. tube — a container
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — high quality
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bark — to shout
  19. drill — army training
  20. march — the month
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. drill — the tool

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