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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: racket · march · drill · squash · tear · court

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. march — the month
  3. squash — the sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. tear — to rip
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. march — the month
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. drill — a practice
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. march — music
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — to crush

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