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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. drill — army training
  2. content — the amount
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. perch — the fish
  5. march — music
  6. capital — money
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. march — the month
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. drill — the tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. fall — to drop
  15. drill — a practice
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fall — the season
  19. capital — a city
  20. content — happy
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. capital — a big letter
  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