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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — music
  3. last — final
  4. drill — a practice
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. drill — the tool
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. board — a committee
  14. last — finally
  15. drill — army training
  16. chest — a box
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — of your body
  20. land — a country
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — ground
  23. march — the month
  24. land — to come down

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