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

Word bank: content · race · nail · fine · march · mine · pit · drill

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. race — the arms race
  3. content — the amount
  4. race — a contest
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fine — all right
  10. march — the month
  11. drill — army training
  12. mine — for digging
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pit — a hole
  16. march — the month
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pit — in a race
  19. race — humankind
  20. fine — high quality
  21. content — happy
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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