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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mug — to rob
  5. drill — army training
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mug — a face
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. staff — employees
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. squash — to crush
  18. drill — a practice
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bat — the animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — the vegetable

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