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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 · charge · straw · drill · nail · plane · current

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. march — the month
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. club — for golf
  8. drill — a practice
  9. club — for dancing
  10. charge — in control
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. march — music
  13. drill — army training
  14. current — of water
  15. drill — the tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. march — the month
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. club — a group
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. charge — a price
  22. current — electric
  23. plane — a tool
  24. current — happening now

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