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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: wake · march · lie · hand · bulb · roll · snap · drill

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wake — a trail
  3. snap — to click
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. march — music
  9. bulb — for light
  10. march — the month
  11. hand — help
  12. drill — army training
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. roll — a cake
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. march — the month
  24. roll — a list

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