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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. drill — army training
  2. march — the month
  3. pop — to visit
  4. clip — to cut
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pop — music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bear — the animal
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — music
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. clip — a video
  23. pop — soda
  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