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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. drill — a practice
  3. march — the month
  4. tube — a container
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. drill — army training
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. rash — a series
  9. march — music
  10. present — the time now
  11. march — the month
  12. content — the amount
  13. present — a gift
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — boats
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fork — in a road
  22. content — happy
  23. present — there
  24. drill — the tool

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