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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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Word bank
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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: march · wake · suit · game · last · tube · clip · drill

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. march — the month
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — a match
  6. last — finally
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — to cut
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. suit — in cards
  13. last — to go on
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. suit — to fit
  16. last — final
  17. tube — the underground
  18. game — wild animals
  19. march — music
  20. drill — a practice
  21. clip — a video
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. suit — clothes
  24. clip — for paper

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