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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: drill · bulb · suit · march · content · press · mine · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. march — the month
  3. mine — for digging
  4. press — a publisher
  5. content — happy
  6. press — to push
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. press — newspapers
  10. suit — clothes
  11. drill — army training
  12. bulb — for light
  13. drill — the tool
  14. suit — to fit
  15. march — music
  16. drill — a practice
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. content — the amount
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. sharp — clever
  24. suit — in cards

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