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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: firm · calf · cold · roll · march · swing · current · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — to play on
  4. march — the month
  5. roll — a cake
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. drill — the tool
  8. firm — decided
  9. swing — in golf
  10. current — of water
  11. swing — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. firm — steady
  14. roll — a list
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. march — the month
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. march — music
  20. drill — a practice
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. firm — a company
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. cold — the Cold War

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