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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — music
  5. last — final
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mate — to breed
  8. firm — decided
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. drill — the tool
  12. last — finally
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. chest — a box
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cell — a phone
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mate — a partner
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — a friend

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