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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. drill — army training
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rash — a series
  13. march — the month
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. march — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — to trim
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. prune — the fruit

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