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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · mine · leaves · drill · pass · current · sharp · cold

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pass — a permit
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. current — of water
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. march — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. drill — army training
  21. current — electric
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — a practice
  24. current — happening now

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