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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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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 · band · sharp · arm · board · drill · cue · pop

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a music group
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. drill — army training
  9. pop — to visit
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cue — a hint
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cue — a signal
  14. march — music
  15. board — a committee
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pop — soda
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. march — the month
  20. board — to get on
  21. cue — for pool
  22. band — a ring
  23. pop — music
  24. sharp — clever

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