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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. march — the month
  3. deal — to handle
  4. land — ground
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. scale — in music
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — the month
  9. staff — a stick
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. staff — employees
  12. current — of water
  13. current — electric
  14. staff — employees
  15. drill — a practice
  16. current — happening now
  17. land — a country
  18. last — finally
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. land — to come down
  21. drill — the tool
  22. scale — size or range
  23. march — music
  24. drill — army training

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