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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: present · drill · cold · craft · march · temple

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. march — the month
  4. craft — boats
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. present — the time now
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. march — music
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. craft — a skill
  15. present — there
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — not warm
  18. present — a gift

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