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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. march — the month
  4. object — an aim
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. chest — a box
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. content — the amount
  11. march — the month
  12. object — a thing
  13. chest — of your body
  14. content — happy
  15. capital — a city
  16. object — to protest
  17. capital — money
  18. drill — a practice
  19. march — music
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. content — videos and posts

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