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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: last · content · march · chip · pop · kick · pitcher · drill

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — to visit
  6. drill — army training
  7. content — happy
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. kick — in football
  11. pop — music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. drill — the tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — the amount
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pop — soda

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