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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. march — the month
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. march — the month
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bear — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. drill — a practice
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chest — a box

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