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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. drill — a practice
  2. content — happy
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mug — to rob
  6. content — the amount
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. mug — a cup
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mug — a face
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. march — music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. drill — the tool
  23. march — the month
  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