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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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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: scale · toast · firm · march · drill · cold · content · temple

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. scale — in music
  3. toast — bread
  4. march — the month
  5. firm — steady
  6. drill — army training
  7. cold — an illness
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. content — happy
  11. march — the month
  12. firm — a company
  13. scale — size or range
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. content — the amount
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. firm — decided
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. drill — a practice
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. march — music
  24. cold — not warm

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