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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — army training
  6. fine — high quality
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bound — obliged
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bound — tied together
  12. scale — size or range
  13. last — final
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bound — certain
  16. march — the month
  17. drill — a practice
  18. game — a match
  19. last — finally
  20. march — the month
  21. fine — all right
  22. march — music
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. game — wild animals

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