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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: march · fine · prune · sharp · drill · fall · rush · foot

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fine — all right
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. fall — the season
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. drill — a practice
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. march — music
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. foot — a measure
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fine — high quality
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fall — to drop
  23. drill — army training
  24. fine — a penalty

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