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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. march — the month
  4. drill — a practice
  5. staff — employees
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. clip — to cut
  8. march — the month
  9. bound — obliged
  10. drill — the tool
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. clip — a video
  13. drill — army training
  14. march — music
  15. staff — a stick
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bound — certain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bound — tied together
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. staff — employees

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