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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: drill · mate · march · face · rule · wind

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. rule — government
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. face — to point toward
  6. march — music
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. drill — army training
  9. rule — a law
  10. mate — a friend
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wind — moving air
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — to confront
  17. march — the month
  18. wind — to turn a key

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