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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. march — the month
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. bound — tied together
  6. march — music
  7. drill — a practice
  8. present — a gift
  9. bound — certain
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. present — there
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. present — the time now
  15. bound — obliged
  16. kid — to tease
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. bark — to shout
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. march — the month
  21. land — ground
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. drill — army training
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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