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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 120 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: drill · bark · cold · face · fan · bowl · march · patient

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. face — to confront
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. march — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bark — to shout
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bark — of a tree

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