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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · drill · present · tear · wind · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — the tool
  4. last — final
  5. drill — a practice
  6. present — there
  7. drill — army training
  8. last — finally
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — the month
  12. present — the time now
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — a gift
  18. last — to go on

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