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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: tear · scale · dip · stand · drill · swing · march · kid

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. kid — to tease
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to sink
  5. swing — to play on
  6. march — music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. drill — a practice
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — army training
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. march — the month
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. swing — music
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. drill — the tool
  24. tear — from crying

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