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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. lean — thin
  3. march — the month
  4. rule — a law
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. shower — to wash
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. lean — to bend
  12. march — music
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. field — farmland
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. march — the month
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. field — for sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — government
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bulb — for light

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