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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 116 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: sharp · last · track · drill · ball · march · mine · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lean — thin
  4. last — final
  5. march — the month
  6. ball — a dance
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. last — to go on
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. march — music
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — the tool
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. drill — a practice
  19. last — finally
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. track — a song
  22. drill — army training
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. track — a path

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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