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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: march · mug · drill · craft · kid · foot · land · shower

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. march — music
  3. drill — army training
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mug — a cup
  7. march — the month
  8. drill — the tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. craft — a skill
  12. mug — to rob
  13. kid — child
  14. march — the month
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. land — ground
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. land — to come down
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mug — a face
  24. land — a country

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