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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. march — the month
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. spring — a coil
  10. squash — to crush
  11. firm — steady
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. plane — a tool
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. firm — a company
  24. squash — the sport

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