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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. last — final
  3. march — the month
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. drill — a practice
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. march — the month
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pound — a weight
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — to go on
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — finally
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — happy
  24. tear — to rip

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