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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: march · drill · bat · wave · date · pass · nail · game

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bat — the animal
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. game — a match
  7. march — the month
  8. game — wild animals
  9. drill — army training
  10. date — the fruit
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. march — music
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. march — the month
  24. drill — a practice

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