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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: current · drill · wind · deal · chest · game · safe · march

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. march — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. drill — the tool
  5. current — happening now
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. drill — army training
  8. chest — of your body
  9. current — electric
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — a match
  13. current — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — a practice
  16. deal — to handle
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. game — wild animals
  21. march — the month
  22. chest — a box
  23. march — the month
  24. wind — to turn a key

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