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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 120 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. march — music
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kid — child
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. kid — to tease
  11. capital — money
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — a practice
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. tube — a container
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. capital — a city
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wake — a trail

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