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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: chair · march · bass · present · drill · pitcher · current · content

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chair — a leader
  3. drill — a practice
  4. current — electric
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. present — a gift
  8. content — happy
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bass — low music
  11. present — there
  12. drill — army training
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — of water
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. march — the month
  22. present — the time now
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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