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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: content · march · drill · fan · ground · toast · arm · snap

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. drill — army training
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — a practice
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. drill — the tool
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — the month
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. toast — bread
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. content — videos and posts
  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