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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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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: clip · drill · march · wake · staff · bear · fan · present

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — the tool
  6. present — the time now
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — to cut
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — employees
  18. bear — the animal
  19. present — there
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wake — a trail
  22. present — a gift
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. drill — army training

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