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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.

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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 · snap · drill · cap · racket · cue · bore · rash

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. march — the month
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. drill — a practice
  10. snap — to click
  11. march — music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bore — to drill
  18. drill — army training
  19. cap — of ice
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bore — to tire
  22. rash — hasty
  23. march — the month
  24. rash — a series

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