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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. sharp — clever
  3. saw — the tool
  4. march — music
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. last — to go on
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — moving air
  12. charge — in control
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. last — finally
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — army training
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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