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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 116 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. march — the month
  4. tube — a container
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bass — low music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — music
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tube — the underground
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ground — a position
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ground — crushed

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