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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: band · toast · drill · march · row · object · club · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. drill — a practice
  3. object — an aim
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a ring
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. object — to protest
  9. date — the fruit
  10. object — a thing
  11. club — for dancing
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. club — for golf
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. drill — army training
  16. club — a group
  17. toast — bread
  18. row — a line
  19. drill — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — the month
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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