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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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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: drill · march · kid · scale · coach · firm · prune · rush

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. drill — the tool
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. drill — a practice
  8. firm — steady
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rush — hurry
  13. kid — to tease
  14. firm — decided
  15. prune — to trim
  16. scale — size or range
  17. firm — a company
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. drill — army training
  21. kid — child
  22. march — the month
  23. prune — to trim
  24. march — music

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