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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: date · drill · coach · cell · race · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. drill — the tool
  3. race — a contest
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. drill — army training
  9. march — music
  10. date — the fruit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. drill — a practice
  13. race — humankind
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cell — a phone
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — the month

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