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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: track · kid · stand · last · march · date · fall · drill

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. march — music
  3. date — the fruit
  4. last — finally
  5. fall — the season
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kid — child
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. last — final
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — to drop
  18. drill — the tool
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kid — to tease
  21. last — to go on
  22. track — a path
  23. stand — to bear
  24. track — a song

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