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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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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: drill · stand · kid · march · trunk · mouse · spell · mine

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spell — magic
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. spell — a short time
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — child
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. kid — to tease
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. march — the month
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. march — music
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spell — letters
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. drill — a practice

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