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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. last — final
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a ring
  6. court — for sport
  7. squash — the sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — clothes
  12. board — to get on
  13. march — music
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. board — a committee
  18. march — the month
  19. last — to go on
  20. suit — to fit
  21. drill — a practice
  22. squash — to crush
  23. last — finally
  24. band — a rubber band

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