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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: wake · mate · present · coach · march · drill · last · band

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. last — final
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. drill — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. drill — army training
  18. last — finally
  19. band — a music group
  20. present — there
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. march — music

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