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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. march — the month
  4. row — a line
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. net — in sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. last — final
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. drill — a practice
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. last — finally
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — the tool
  23. last — to go on
  24. hide — to keep secret

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