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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. tear — from crying
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pop — music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. march — the month
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pop — to visit
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — a trail
  21. drill — army training
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pop — soda

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