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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. file — a line of people
  6. track — to keep track
  7. tear — from crying
  8. club — for dancing
  9. fork — in a road
  10. file — a tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. track — a song
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. club — a group
  18. march — music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. track — a path
  21. club — for golf
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — belonging to me

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