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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: court · wound · bay · drill · bear · leaves · kick · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. court — for sport
  8. kick — in football
  9. bear — the animal
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. court — of a king
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. drill — the tool
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — army training
  22. march — the month
  23. court — of law
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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