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

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. shower — rain
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. drill — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — music
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. court — for sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. drill — a practice

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