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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — for digging
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pit — a hole
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. last — to go on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — final
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pit — in a race
  20. stand — to bear
  21. last — finally
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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