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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: bank · trunk · march · mark · drill · ball · cold · rock

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rock — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — the month
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. drill — the tool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. march — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — a stone
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mark — a trace
  20. drill — army training
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. march — the month
  24. ball — a dance

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