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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fine — high quality
  3. content — the amount
  4. march — music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. game — a match
  13. drill — army training
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. march — the month
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. game — wild animals
  23. content — happy
  24. fine — all right

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