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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — a practice
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — money
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. capital — a city
  22. drill — army training
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. saw — the tool

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