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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. rest — what's left
  4. row — a line
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. rest — a break
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cold — not warm
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — an illness
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — what's left

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