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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — music
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — final
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. sharp — clever
  7. drill — the tool
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. march — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitch — completely
  16. march — the month
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. last — to go on
  20. content — happy
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. content — the amount
  23. last — finally
  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