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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. game — a match
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. drill — a practice
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. march — the month
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. sharp — clever
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. drill — army training
  24. sharp — with an edge

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