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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. drill — a practice
  5. root — of a word
  6. clip — for paper
  7. root — of a plant
  8. shower — to wash
  9. drill — army training
  10. shower — rain
  11. root — the cause
  12. drill — the tool
  13. court — of law
  14. hand — in cards
  15. march — music
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. court — for sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. court — of a king
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — help
  23. clip — to cut
  24. hide — animal skin

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