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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 · board · march · last · row · saw · bulb · present

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. march — music
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. present — there
  6. board — to get on
  7. drill — army training
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. row — a line
  13. march — the month
  14. saw — the tool
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. present — a gift
  17. bulb — for light
  18. row — to paddle
  19. present — the time now
  20. bulb — for light
  21. march — the month
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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