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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. drill — army training
  3. rash — a series
  4. last — to go on
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. march — the month
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — a practice
  16. charge — electricity
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. march — music
  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