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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: bat · net · bore · ground · squash · coach · drill · march

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. march — the month
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. drill — a practice
  9. net — in sport
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. drill — army training
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. march — music
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ground — the earth
  23. march — the month
  24. drill — the tool

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