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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  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. kid — child
  2. spell — magic
  3. march — music
  4. row — to paddle
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — a practice
  7. squash — to crush
  8. march — the month
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — letters
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. row — a line
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. drill — the tool
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. squash — the sport
  22. perch — the fish
  23. safe — out of danger
  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