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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: kick · drill · rule · hide · march · bat

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. drill — a practice
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rule — a law
  7. kick — in football
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. march — music
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. march — the month
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. drill — army training
  17. rule — government
  18. hide — to keep secret

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