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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: lean · march · wound · snap · bat · mark · drill · chip

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. drill — army training
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — a grade
  7. lean — thin
  8. snap — to click
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — a trace
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lean — to bend
  21. chip — to eat
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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