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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 · club · mark · rash · racket · craft · pitcher · drill

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rash — hasty
  10. drill — a practice
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. club — a group
  15. craft — boats
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. drill — army training
  19. march — the month
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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