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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: content · drill · rush · march · tube · press · game · tear

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. tube — a container
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. drill — a practice
  5. march — the month
  6. content — happy
  7. drill — army training
  8. press — newspapers
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. tear — from crying
  12. game — a match
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. march — music
  15. content — the amount
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tube — the underground
  20. game — wild animals
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. press — a publisher
  23. march — the month
  24. rush — hurry

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