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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: march · drill · last · bank · root · degree · capital · wave

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. last — finally
  6. bank — of a river
  7. capital — money
  8. bank — for money
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. march — music
  11. root — of a plant
  12. degree — temperature
  13. root — the cause
  14. capital — a city
  15. bank — for money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. root — of a word
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. march — the month
  20. degree — from a university
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — an amount
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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