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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. swing — music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. march — music
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — army training
  13. swing — to play on
  14. court — of a king
  15. swing — in golf
  16. tear — to rip
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. court — of law
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. march — the month

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