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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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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: march · bore · racket · court · drill · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bore — to tire
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — the month
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. march — the month
  7. drill — the tool
  8. court — of law
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. drill — a practice
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pop — soda
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. march — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bore — to drill
  18. racket — a loud noise

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