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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: pit · perch · bound · drill · wake · bat · bank · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bank — for money
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. bank — for money
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bound — certain
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — a trail
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pit — in a race
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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