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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — army training
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pop — soda
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. march — music
  12. pop — music
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. content — the amount
  15. band — a music group
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. content — happy
  18. band — a ring
  19. pop — to visit
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bowl — a dish

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