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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 120 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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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: drill · bass · firm · rule · march · temple · cap · cell

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bass — the fish
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bass — low music
  8. drill — army training
  9. march — music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. firm — steady
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rule — a law
  15. cell — in biology
  16. march — the month
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — decided
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. cap — of ice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — a phone

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