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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — happy
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. drill — a practice
  8. content — the amount
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. land — ground
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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