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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. bowl — to roll
  3. drill — the tool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. firm — decided
  10. clip — for paper
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — a company
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — a short time
  19. drill — a practice
  20. spell — magic
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. clip — a video
  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