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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. lean — thin
  4. march — the month
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. march — the month
  12. net — in sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — for catching
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. march — music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. drill — army training
  20. ball — a dance
  21. net — after costs
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. drill — a practice

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