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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · fork · board · drill · roll · march · tube · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. tube — a container
  3. mate — a partner
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. land — a country
  7. roll — a list
  8. drill — army training
  9. march — music
  10. tube — the underground
  11. land — ground
  12. mate — a friend
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. drill — the tool
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. land — to come down
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. board — to get on

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