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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stand — to bear
  3. hand — help
  4. drill — army training
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. hand — in cards
  11. content — the amount
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. march — music
  19. content — happy
  20. drill — a practice
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. dip — to dunk

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