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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. band — a music group
  4. drill — army training
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. content — the amount
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bore — to drill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. root — of a plant
  11. band — a ring
  12. bore — to tire
  13. scale — size or range
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. march — the month
  17. lean — thin
  18. scale — in music
  19. content — happy
  20. drill — a practice
  21. root — the cause
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. lean — to bend
  24. root — of a word

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