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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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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. branch — a division
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. march — the month
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. last — final
  8. cell — in biology
  9. drill — a practice
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cell — a phone
  12. march — the month
  13. roll — a list
  14. spell — letters
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spell — a short time
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. spell — magic
  20. last — finally
  21. roll — a cake
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. march — music
  24. last — to go on

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