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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pop — soda
  5. march — music
  6. pop — music
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. drill — army training
  9. march — the month
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. drill — a practice
  12. spring — of water
  13. march — the month
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — the season
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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