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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: date · rock · rash · racket · march · bat · saw · drill

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. date — the fruit
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. saw — the tool
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rash — a series
  10. drill — army training
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bat — the animal
  19. drill — a practice
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rock — music
  24. drill — the tool

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