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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.

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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. march — music
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — a tool
  4. craft — boats
  5. kid — child
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — of the year
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. march — the month
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. season — in sport
  21. drill — army training
  22. march — the month
  23. craft — a skill
  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