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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — the month
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. track — a path
  8. track — a song
  9. pass — a permit
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. march — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. drill — a practice
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. march — the month
  22. prune — to trim
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. drill — the tool

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