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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 · current · mark · pop · foot · kid · net

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. pop — to visit
  3. march — the month
  4. mark — a grade
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — electric
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. current — of water
  14. march — the month
  15. net — after costs
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. net — in sport
  19. kid — child
  20. march — music
  21. net — for catching
  22. drill — army training
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mark — a trace

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