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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. march — music
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tube — a container
  6. rock — music
  7. drill — a practice
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tube — the underground
  21. clip — a video
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. tube — in a tire

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