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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bear — the animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bear — the animal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. drill — army training
  13. cap — a hat
  14. march — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

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