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

Word bank: club · mouse · pound · drill · march · fall

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. march — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. march — the month
  8. fall — to drop
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fall — the season
  12. drill — army training
  13. club — for golf
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. club — for dancing
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. club — a group

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