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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. net — for catching
  4. march — the month
  5. content — happy
  6. drill — the tool
  7. net — after costs
  8. pop — soda
  9. march — the month
  10. drill — a practice
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pop — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. content — the amount
  17. race — the arms race
  18. drill — army training
  19. net — in sport
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  24. snap — to click

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