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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. spell — a short time
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. scale — in music
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spell — magic
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. spell — letters
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — a practice
  15. date — the fruit
  16. dip — to sink
  17. plane — a tool
  18. march — the month
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. drill — army training
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. scale — for weighing

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