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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. plane — a tool
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. drill — army training
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. season — of the year
  13. pop — soda
  14. drill — a practice
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. season — in sport
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. swing — in golf
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a document
  24. march — music

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