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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. degree — from a university
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rush — hurry
  7. lean — thin
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. can — to be able to
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bore — to drill
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — to wash
  18. march — the month
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. shower — rain
  21. degree — an amount
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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