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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bark — to shout
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — to grow
  6. sharp — clever
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. march — the month
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mate — to breed
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mate — a friend
  15. drill — a practice
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mate — a partner
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. march — music
  24. bark — of a tree

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