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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · march · rule · mouse · row · saw

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. drill — army training
  5. rule — a law
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. row — a line
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rule — government
  12. drill — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — to paddle

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