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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. drill — the tool
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. race — humankind
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. march — music
  24. sharp — clever

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