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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rush — hurry
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. march — the month
  9. lean — thin
  10. drill — a practice
  11. tube — a container
  12. kid — to tease
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. march — music
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. scale — in music
  21. lean — to bend
  22. content — happy
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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