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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 · drill · nail · hand · rock · net · rule · calf

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rock — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. rock — a stone
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — in sport
  9. drill — a practice
  10. march — music
  11. hand — help
  12. drill — army training
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — a law
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rule — government
  17. net — after costs
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. net — for catching
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rock — to move gently

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